I will try to answer your question, Mr. André.
First of all, let me speak to the very tragic issue of killings. I'm very familiar, and have been for a long time, with unacceptably high rates of murder, not just in Colombia but in many parts of the hemisphere. It's going on in Mexico today. It's going on in many countries, and this is terrible.
The only thing I would point out is this. The Economist magazine points out that the murder rate among Colombian trade unionists declined to five per 100,000 in 2007. And that's one-seventh of the rate of the murder of Colombians generally.
Now, I make no distinction between the loss of life of a trade union leader and of any other Colombian. The loss of one life is a great tragedy. But I'm only pointing out that the homicides of trade unionists have fallen about 80% from a high of more than 200 in 2001 to 33 last year. That's 33 too many, but let's be very clear: unless you and I are working from a totally different database...and I'm not quoting Le Conseil canadien des chefs d'entreprise here. I'm quoting the International Labour Organization and The Economist. Those are the numbers. Any loss of life is a tragedy.
The second thing I would say is that of course enterprises have a responsibility to carry their values and social responsibility to wherever they invest. I would say that the record of Canadian companies, and by and large the record of American companies, British companies, French companies, German companies, Australian companies, New Zealand companies--we can go through the list of those companies that are operating in the emerging world--show that these companies bring values that represent those countries, bring a higher commitment to social responsibility, and have been the driving forces for bringing the issue of accountability, in terms of good governance, to many parts of the world.
You may say to me, “Did you know that mining company X was throwing cyanide from its gold operations into the local stream?” You will always find the odd rogue company doing that. But I would ask you to cite for me one example of a Canadian company that has acted in either a criminal or an irresponsible fashion in Colombia. I don't know of one. If there is one, I'd like to know who it is.