Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Nov. 1st, 2012

[Cliff Davis]

Certainly: there are many, many visitors to the Bisha site, international as well as local people who aren't involved with our company. We've also had interaction with Human Rights Watch. So we would be happy for MPs at the table, or any other organizations, to visit the Bisha site.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you very much.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

In its CSR report, your company makes the following comment:

We adopted the IFC social and environmental performance standards of April 2006 and developed our management plans accordingly. The plans have been subject to review by country hosts and by international bankers as part of their due diligence when considering funding for development of the Bisha mine. We have since implemented the social and environmental plans and have subsequently been audited by an independent third party.

Would your company agree to provide our subcommittee with a document containing the results of the audit of the social and environmental plans that was conducted by that independent third party?

[Cliff Davis]

As to how recent that was, I think it was back in 2008 when that audit process was going on. I don't have the permission just to release that kind of documentation. It wasn't hired directly by us, in any case...[Inaudible--Editor]

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you.

I hope I will have more luck with my second question.

In its resolution 2023, passed in 2011, the Security Council decreed that states should have to take appropriate measures to promote the exercise of vigilance by “firms incorporated in their territory or subject to their jurisdiction that are doing business in this sector of Eritrea including through the issuance of due diligence guidelines”. It also instructed the appropriate UN sanctions committee to develop guidelines for mining companies conducting activities in the country.

Would your company consider voluntarily complying with the due diligence guidelines drawn up by the UN sanctions committee?

[Cliff Davis]

Certainly we'd consider it. It's our understanding that those guidelines are still in process. We have not seen those guidelines today.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

I still have no luck.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

You still have two minutes, if you want to use them.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Okay.

Even if you have not read the due diligence guidelines, do you have an idea of the kinds of measures they should contain?

[Cliff Davis]

No. I wouldn't speculate on that.

We monitor very regularly as to when those guidelines might come out. The guidelines have been produced by a monitoring committee or their designees, and we wait to receive them.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Do I have one minute left?

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

One minute, yes.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

I will give my remaining time to my colleague Ève.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

In your presentation, you mentioned that you make regular site visits to make sure that the subcontractors are providing food and that conditions are acceptable in the camps the employees live in.

Can you give us a quick idea of your schedule? How many visits do you make and how often? Do you warn the subcontractors? Do you warn the people before you visit or are your visits unscheduled and made without notice?

[Cliff Davis]

First of all, that's not the purpose of my trip. The purpose of my trip is to interact with our Bisha site management and our Eritrean partners. We have people on site all the time through Bisha Mining Share Company. Our expatriate managers are very experienced, and they have full facilities and full capability to monitor food, productivity, and—

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Sorry—

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Your time is up, madam.

It does give a chance for me to just point out we have enough time for one more question, one-offs, from each of the parties before we run out of time.

I have a quick question myself. You mentioned expatriates. I assume you mean these are people who are either Canadians or other non-Eritrean nationals who are on site full time on the mine site.

Is that correct?

[Cliff Davis]

That's correct. They're non-Eritrean. They are largely African, South African, from Ghana, Australia—around the world.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

How many would there be at a typical time?

[Cliff Davis]

Right now there are about 160—

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Non-Eritreans?

[Cliff Davis]

—expatriates.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Right.

Would those individuals primarily be, I'm assuming from an economic position, people of engineering experience, that kind of thing? They bring certain kinds of expertise?

[Cliff Davis]

Correct. They're very specialized. They're part of the construction project as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Right.

Would they also, not to put too fine a point on it, have a degree of liberty vis-à-vis the Eritrean government and a degree of personal security that would not be available for any national?