Thank you.
The question is really around voluntary compliance. But it's also, I would argue, the case that Canadian companies, when they operate anywhere in the world, export Canadian values and Canadian systems. The number of Canadian companies that are ever involved in these issues is very small.
One thing that was most interesting, while we have not talked about it in our statement, is that if you look at Talisman in Sudan a decade ago, I would argue with you that today Talisman is probably a leader in Canada in CSR, and it's because of Sudan. This gets to your comment earlier about some pressure and some differences.
Companies in Canada.... We actually try to promote good CSR values as a niche for Canadians. That's how we want to be seen in the world. We would like people to know that if they deal with Canadian companies, there won't be corruption. In fact, that helps them find contracts, because government people can feel safe that they won't be held up to public scrutiny on these things, because they know that Canadian companies aren't involved in it.
When we find Canadian companies that are going down a path with which we're uncomfortable, our heads of mission, our ambassadors, our high commissioners, our senior trade people speak often and frequently to them about host government regulations. Because sometimes the host government regulations are much easier and laxer than Canadian ones, we're saying that Canadian companies should be bound by the two. And you don't get to choose the lesser of the two; you get to choose the greater of the two.
It's a constant.... I used Talisman, and I can use La Mancha, and I didn't reply to Mr. Martin's last comment about GNPOC. We've met with all the companies that have had anything to do, in the past or currently, with Sudan to talk to them about their actions and what they're doing. We bring this to their attention every day, with somebody talking to somebody.
I like the tenor of your comment, in the sense that it's not a regulatory approach, but it's one that demands that they really think of themselves as Canadians and about our values.
The other thing is the OECD regulations. We have a National Contact Point here that listens and talks to NGOs and talks to companies. So we have a formal mechanism, we have the informal mechanisms, we have the Foreign Affairs kinds of things. We believe we're certainly moving in the right direction and have the right....
I would also say that voluntary standards—we use voluntary international standards of the UN, the World Bank—are not just something somebody thought up in the basement of their house. These are valid standards for extractive industries—for corruption, for whatever. And you'll notice that many Canadian companies are global leaders now. They publish compliance regulations; they publish separate annual reports.
I'm not sure I can answer this better than to say that this is where we are.
I'll just take one second to say that the other thing we need to look at in contracts is whether there are any trade obligations under WTO or GATT negotiations, and I just don't know. That's why I can't.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take up your time.