Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from citizens and residents of Canada who are deeply concerned about the actions of a Canadian corporation, OceanaGold, which is operating in the Philippines with the support of the Philippine government. There are grave concerns about the degradation of human rights, particularly against indigenous people, and of the environment.
The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to strengthen the rules for Canadian businesses operating overseas; uphold human rights; make the Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise independent and empowered to compel evidence, witnesses and testimony, among other things; and end support to the Government of the Philippines, including socio-economic and financial programming.