Mr. Dade, this whole question of companies' social responsibility did not arise after someone had a nightmare one night. In Canada, we have been talking about it for years, of course. This resulted in the round tables that went across Canada and in which people participated of their own accord. People from civil society organizations did too, and national organizations, and mining companies. There were people from all walks of life, actually.
The consultation was followed by a report providing recommendations that were presented to the government. The consultation even resulted in a consensus.
Bill C-300is very weak in comparison with what was in that report. Wouldn't it be nice if, one day, a member introduced a bill containing all the recommendations...? You come here to tell us that Canadian society wants companies to be made accountable overseas, and there are no tools to do that at the moment because everything is voluntary. That is what came through in all the consultations. There really is a need and Canadian society really feels that companies operating overseas must be made accountable.
Why are these companies so afraid if they are following the rules, if they are responsible and if they are living up to their environmental responsibilities? Why are they so afraid of this bill if they are doing nothing to contravene the principles of social responsibility overseas?