For Canadian mining companies operating abroad, respect for human rights is more than essential. They go even further than what the rules of the stock market dictate.
I'll give you an example.
Suppose a mine is built in a town the size of Val-d'Or, with about 50,000 people. The workers are going to have benefits, and they're going to work under fantastic human conditions, on par with those in a developed country. People will have enough money to buy a car, for example. However, if the mine is built near a town that doesn't have electricity yet, it's going to create jealousy in the community.
Unfortunately, this is a very difficult problem to solve. All mining companies have pretty much the same problem. To find a solution, we have to work with local governments. That's why it's difficult to set certain standards in countries where those kinds of standards are not usually imposed. So we have to find a middle ground.