Mr. Speaker, why is the government so grotesquely irresponsible when it comes to corporate social responsibility?
More than 1,000 mining companies are listed on Canadian stock exchanges, more than any other country. Canadian based companies conduct 40% of all mineral exploration in the world.
According to the UN, extractive companies are the most frequently cited in complaints of corporate human rights abuses in the developing world.
National round tables in 2006 involving industry leaders and development NGOs called for Canadian standards of corporate social responsibility, an independent ombudsperson to investigate claims of Canadian corporate abuses in developing countries, and withholding public support from the worst offenders.
In April 2007 the parliamentary secretary assured the foreign affairs committee the government would respond rapidly to these recommendations. In July the Prime Minister stated, “Implementation of these recommendations will place Canada among the most active G-8 countries in advancing corporate social responsibility”.
A full year later, why is the government still deadly silent on corporate social responsibility?