Foreign Affairs committee  As for the ombudsman, that comes right back to the comment I made before. It is certainly the best way to make sure that the resources being developed in one way or other in a country like Sudan are developed in a responsible way. Canadian companies must become accountable. The idea of an ombudsman moves in that direction.

Foreign Affairs committee  That's basically where we think the solution is in a situation like Sudan. We think that making Canadian corporations that are operating abroad more responsible for their actions, more responsible for the environmental consequences of the operations they have abroad, more responsible for the employees they hire, train, and use for their operations is a part of the solution.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd say that the entire national resources sector has been improving drastically in that domain for the past 10 or 15 years. These days, in the organizational chart of most of the mining and oil and gas companies, you'll find at least one officer responsible for social development and community relationships.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. When the decision is made to impose sanctions on a country, economic sanctions are often those that first come to mind. We are one of the few companies currently conducting activities in Sudan. In the document that has been distributed to you, we try to describe for you the vision of a mining operation in Sudan.