In finishing my point around the risk of retaliation, what impacted communities.... The assessment they will need to be making in bringing a complaint to any office is, given the risk of retaliation, is there a possibility of reward? Is there a possibility of remedy? Is it worth the risk in bringing a complaint?
Based on the experience we have with very similar offices in the past—the CSR counsellor's office, the national contact point—that didn't have the power to investigate, that didn't have the power to compel documents and testimony, that relied on companies voluntarily participating, the result there for impacted communities was no remedy, a waste of time and resources, and often a situation where they were put in more of a risk after bringing a complaint than before they came.
Our analysis is that exactly the same will happen with this office, the way it is currently structured.