Foreign Affairs committee  I'd like to respond to a number of points raised in the question. First of all, the Government of Canada, in adhering to and promoting the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises, does have an economy-wide approach and the national contact point, representing a mechanism to both promote and address complaints associated with implementation of those guidelines by Canadian firms working in Canada, as well as Canadian corporations working abroad.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd like to respond in several regards. In the first instance, the government's CSR strategy and the policy foundation for it is a proactive approach of continuous improvement of industry performance, of measures to address disputes and undertake fact-finding and, as well, of fundamental improvement of the governance and institutional capacity of developing countries so they can implement and enforce the laws in their country to benefit from sustainable development of their resource wealth.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd first like to respond to your initial statement regarding the role and responsibilities of the CSR counsellor. It is very important to look at it in the context of existing measures, such as a national contact point, the adoption by EDC of the Equator Principles, and its compliance offer.

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, in response to the question, in the first instance I just want to reiterate the point I made that the government's CSR strategy responds substantially to the recommendations of the round table report and builds on measures in place, including the adoption by EDC of the Equator Principles, which guide its business.

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, in starting my response, I'd like to reiterate the fundamental objectives of the government in terms of implementing a multi-pronged strategy to improve the CSR performance of the Canadian extractive industry and as well to contribute to governance and institutional capacity building in host countries through collaborative government-to-government work.

Foreign Affairs committee  As I've outlined, the government believes that through the CSR strategy it announced last spring, coupled with the measures in place and the commitment of industry and other stakeholders to work forward on this, there is a substantive mechanism in place that both proactively promotes good practice as a mechanism to resolve disputes and addresses one of the critical root issues, which is the lack of governance capacity in many developing countries for the sustainable development of their resources.

Foreign Affairs committee  The Canadian CSR strategy that the government announced in the spring is unique in the world. Other countries as well as Canada have the national contact point as part of their implementation of the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises. We've gone a significant step further in implementing the strategy, and in my discussions with both developed and developing countries around the world, they are highly complimentary to the approach the government has taken in this regard.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have provided copies of my remarks in both official languages and I'll present a somewhat abridged version of them. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you today. My opening remarks will focus on Canada's mining sector and corporate social responsibility, given my responsibilities at Natural Resources Canada as assistant deputy minister, minerals and metals.