I recall that when I was part of the mission to Sudan there were certainly conflicting reports from Talisman Energy and from non-governmental organizations about what was going on there. Sitting in Canada, it was difficult to know what was really going on.
If a company is, as Mr. Shrake suggests, the victim of wrongful accusations and allegations that have a detrimental effect on its reputation, it would seem advantageous to have a forum within which those allegations can be considered in a reasonable and attentive way. It seems to me that what Bill C-300 does is provide a forum for that. Rather than being judged in the court of public opinion, which as I understand from Mr. Shrake's assessment is deeply damaging to his corporation, it might be beneficial--indeed it might well be more than beneficial--to have a neutral forum where allegations that are brought can be tested against the response the company would make and dealt with in a constructive way. I could imagine that under this legislation, if one got to the point of devising regulations under it, you would want to establish a process by which that could be done.
Ultimately, if Mr. Shrake is correct that there is no basis for these allegations, then presumably the outcome of this process would vindicate his corporation in a way that cannot satisfactorily be done at present.
There is provision in this for a rapid disposition of what is termed here to be frivolous and vexatious complaints. I have no view, obviously, on the complaints that are brought with respect to this corporation. But I would note that if Mr. Shrake is correct that they are merely frivolous and vexatious, this provides a mechanism for disposing of them quickly. If it turns out there is some evidentiary basis to them, it provides an opportunity by which they can be fully ventilated. So in either case I would think it would be to the benefit of all concerned to provide that forum.
Again, if Mr. Shrake is correct that there are organizations whose actions are not motivated by good faith, then I would think a process like this would discredit them ultimately and thereby deflate their potency, all of which would be done to the benefit of Pacific Rim or other corporations in his situation.
I say this, of course, taking no position on the allegations that were made against his company, or indeed Mr. Shrake's response to them. I'm in no position to assess that.