Mr. Speaker, the following response is accurate as of March 31, 2010: a) With regard to an official office space that is accessible to the public and space for the counsellor’s staff, Public Works and Government Services Canada has identified space for the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor at the Dominion Building, 1, Front Street West, 5th Floor, Suite 5110, Toronto, ON, M5J 2X5. The office is currently operational and was opened to the public and other stakeholders on March 08, 2010.
b) With regard if an office has been provided, where it is located and precisely which offices have been allocated at the given address, the office is located on the 5th floor, suite 5110, 1 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario.
c) With regard if staff have been provided, how many staff does the counsellor have and what are their functions, the counsellor will be supported by two staff. An administrative assistant has been hired. The counsellor is working to fill the senior policy advisor position.
d) With regard to what the budget is for the counsellor’s office and staff, the budget of the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor is $654,240 per year, including salaries, travel and other operational expenses.
e) With regard if the counsellor has yet received any complaints in relation to counsellor’s mandate, no. The review process outlined in the Order in Council to create the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor needs to be developed further into a comprehensive and detailed process that is fair, transparent and credible. Early outreach and dialogue conducted by the counsellor with a wide-ranging set of stakeholders indicates that the process used to construct the review mechanism and the rules of procedure must be inclusive, participatory, transparent and multi-stakeholder. The counsellor has begun to construct the framework and methodology and will soon be conducting formal consultations with stakeholders to develop the review mechanism.
f) With regard to why there is no clear and user-friendly information on the government’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade website to assist Canadians in contacting the CSR counsellor, the counsellor is in the process of developing a website for the office with website address at www.international.gc.ca/csr-counsellor. In addition, the counsellor’s contact information can be found at Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Corporate Social Responsibility website at www.csr.gc.ca.
g) With regard to the email address, fax number, phone number and address for the current counsellor, the current contact information for Dr. Marketa Evans is email: [email protected]; telephone: 416 973 2064; fax: to be installed shortly; address: Dominion Building, 1, Front Street West, 5th Floor, Suite 5110, Toronto, ON, M5J 2X5.
h) With regard if an office and staff have not yet been provided, from where is the current counsellor working and how is she undertaking her responsibilities as mandated by the order in council, the office of the counsellor is operational at present? Since the counsellor began work on October 19th, she has met with numerous stakeholders, participated in various conferences, workshops and seminars, including discussions with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Her activities have necessarily focused on her engagement with stakeholders as they will have an integral role to play in assisting her to develop a robust review mechanism that is fair, transparent and credible.
i)With regard if an office and staff have not yet been provided to the counsellor, when does the minister expect to provide them, and if they have been provided, on what date were they procured? The counsellor’s office located at Dominion Building, 1, Front Street, 5th Floor, Suite 5110 is operational. Staffing process has been partially filled with the hiring of the administrative assistant. The counsellor is working to fill the senior policy advisor position.