Foreign Affairs committee  I'd note several things, Mr. Chair. The government has had in existence a national contact point for the OECD guidelines, so that's an existing mechanism that has been used. In addition, as issues arise, the mission in that country is often involved in support with the host gove

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I would like to reiterate some of the points I've made. A first key step and a fundamental role of the CSR counsellor will be establishing facts, undertaking fact-finding. In addition, the mission on the ground can work with the host government, which has the legal fra

Foreign Affairs committee  —the Equator Principles.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm not able to respond to that, but we could follow up with EDC and get an answer for you.

Foreign Affairs committee  Canada is, on many measures, number one. We have well over 50% of the global exploration and mining companies. About a third of the global capital for exploration and mining investment is raised on the Toronto Venture Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Next in the size and

Foreign Affairs committee  Those conventions and their implementation within various countries or states articulate the relationship and responsibilities of individuals with respect to that country or state, and so aren't intended for corporations. This is an area of active work. The UN Secretary General m

Foreign Affairs committee  We will follow up more fulsomely with a response from DFAIT.

Foreign Affairs committee  In response, Mr. Chair, what the round tables recommended was a broader policy-based approach, to which the government has responded substantively. The ombudsman function was essentially a fact-finding function that had mediative powers in many regards, very similar to what the g

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll answer your specific question first, and then respond more generally to some of the other points you raised. Indeed, the definition of the role and responsibilities of the extractive sector counsellor--proceeding with the process outlined from assessment to informal mediati

Foreign Affairs committee  Correct. I guess the two things I would note are that that would be reported, because of the commitment to transparent reporting, and then second, I think the great majority of companies would want to participate because of the transparency.

Foreign Affairs committee  No, but there is transparent reporting and the fact that a complaint was made and that it wasn't addressed.... And again, more fundamentally, with regard to the round table report, the responsibilities of the CSR extractive counsellor are substantively similar to those envisaged

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd agree that over the past decade this has been an area of interest for multilateral groups, the World Bank, and other countries as well as Canada.

Foreign Affairs committee  It resulted from an international multi-stakeholder process. In the context of that situation, it was the right thing—

Foreign Affairs committee  —and Canada supported it. But in regard to your comment about Norway and their pension plan, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has a policy on responsible investing. EDC has adopted—

Foreign Affairs committee  As I noted, the government strategy identifies the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights as one of the performance standards for industry to follow. Canada has applied to join and has joined those. The Equator Principles, which guide the investment risk analysis and d