Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My thanks to you for appearing here today.
I believe we all agree that we want to support improved legislation and greater corporate responsibility internationally. I am concerned that we seem to be fixating on one industry. I would think that we would want to encourage this kind of corporate responsibility across the board—not only within the extractive sector, but also in forestry, manufacturing, and other Canadian industries dealing internationally.
I agree with my colleague opposite, Mr. Rae, who said that this bill speaks about these improvements. But as he also said, it requires some improvements, some modifications. Therein lies my concern. This suggests that there are problems with this bill—serious concerns on Mr. Rae's part and on our side as well. The difficulty lies in identifying what those concerns are.
I note from your comments that you weren't referring to this bill; you were talking in generalities. But don't the references in this bill to international standards and rights amount to a limit on Canadian sovereignty? The bill would seem to compel corporations to adhere to international standards and rights that the Canadian government itself might not have adopted. What does it do for Canadian sovereignty if our corporations are compelled to work under such a system? Might companies wish to leave this country to avoid the problematic points in this legislation?