Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think it's difficult to always compare Canada. Canada does have a problem in terms of its reputation with respect to its extractive companies operating abroad. There have been different studies done that have documented the human rights violations that have been associated with Canadian companies operating abroad.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes. I don't think it's an either-or situation. The CORE could play a role in any framework of legislation by providing, with the appropriate powers, an effective non-judicial remedy for this, but as I think I said before, you need measures that prevent companies from engaging in human rights due diligence.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Okay. I could tell you a little bit about that. We were sent there to investigate these grave allegations of violations of human rights. We found, in fact, that public security forces that were protecting the assets of the consortium, the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, of which Talisman was a 25% shareholder, were perpetrating terrible violations of human rights.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes. It was the Sudanese public security forces. In many cases of human rights abuse, it is security forces that engage in this, but that doesn't absolve the company of a responsibility to ensure that those who they engage are screened and to have clear instructions not to engage in violations of human rights.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for that question. I'd have to look at the full budget to understand exactly what resources she has, but I do agree that Canada is host to a majority of the world's largest mining companies, many of which operate overseas. As you point out, there are a significant number operating in Mexico, but also in other parts of Latin America and in Africa.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's a great question. First let me say that it's important to understand, too, that sexual violence does not occur only in areas of conflict. It actually is a risk that follows large-scale resource extraction everywhere. It doesn't matter if it's in Canada or in other countries, there's a high risk of sexual violence.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that. Thank you as well for reading my book. That's a very good question, but I think probably the first statement you made does not say “legal” mechanisms. I think what we were arguing for in that book was that we need to go beyond self-regulation, that self-regulatory initiatives are incapable of ensuring, in any systematic way, that companies do not become complicit in violations of human rights.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Absolutely. If a body is asked to investigate a complaint and it can't access the information, then it will come to a conclusion that is not based on the full set of facts. This can be, I think, detrimental also for companies, because it may come to a conclusion that the company has violated its responsibility to respect human rights or otherwise acted in a way that is harmful when in fact it might not have done so.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think the original plan was for the CORE to be an independent entity that could make credible investigations. It was supposed to have powers to compel witnesses and documents. This is how it could be improved. Allow it to engage in investigations in a credible way and come to conclusions about a situation with all the evidence before it.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes. Thanks for that question. I think you mentioned in your first question that the CORE has been talked about as being a first step. It's a good first step, by providing a remedy, in terms of addressing that aspect of the issue, but there's no legislation in place that requires companies to engage in human rights due diligence, for example, to prevent them from becoming involved in violations of human rights in the first place.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes. That's exactly right.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you very much for inviting me to testify before this committee on this really important issue. I have been working on issues of corporate accountability in the area of resource extraction for over two decades. I was a member of the Canadian assessment mission to Sudan, also known as the Harker mission, which was sent by Lloyd Axworthy to investigate allegations of grave violations of human rights perpetrated to protect the business assets of the consortium of which the Canadian oil company Talisman Energy was a part.