Foreign Affairs committee  This is an interesting nexus with what Bill C-300 would do. Had Bill C-300 been law five years ago, ten years ago, then this project that Mr. Schnoor talked about in the Siria Valley in Honduras, the San Martin project, would have been operated more responsibly. Here's how it bl

Foreign Affairs committee  For the Nautilus project, the company was based in Vancouver at one point, then Toronto, so there's some Canadian mining interests in it. I think Barrick might have some interest in the project. I'm not very clear about how the corporate conglomerate is comprised, but the project

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm sorry. The exact project is the first ever seabed mining commercial venture in human history. It will be to mine the sea floor's massive sulphide deposits at deep sea hydrothermal vent systems a mile deep in the Bismarck Sea, off New Ireland and Papua New Guinea. It's the fir

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, sir. First off, to the previous gentleman's comment that the mining companies that we've discussed today, including Barrick and Pacific Rim, etc., have a chance before the committee, I think we can well script.... We can understand exactly what they will say. They wil

Foreign Affairs committee  That's right.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would respectfully disagree, sir. I think the U.S. standards are not up to what Bill C-300 is proposing. I think, again, if the companies have great confidence in their CSR portfolios and profiles overseas, they should have no worries whatsoever with Bill C-300, and likewise th

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, I believe that the American standards do require adherence to the international human rights conventions and best practices. I would also say that the U.S. Ex-Im Bank, the Export-Import Bank in the United States, already uses ISE guidelines. EDC has its own set of environmen

Foreign Affairs committee  Living in Alaska, a state that is very politically dominated by resource development, there are positive and negative sides to that. We just have to be honest about it. But we have heard this threat for years that if the state government raises oil taxes, the oil companies are

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, I am aware of them, though not intimately. I was not a participant. But I believe that is the sort of derivation for the introduction of legislation. We could sit around and talk all we want about corporate social responsibility with all our noble intentions, but again, it

Foreign Affairs committee  I concur with what Mr. Schnoor has said. The discretionary aspect of these is concerning. To some extent, Bill C-300 allows discretionary review by the ministers, and there's no way to get around that. A lot of this will be a judgment call. Once the ministers, acting independ

Foreign Affairs committee  If that question is to me, I do not think it would be the case. I'm sorry, Mr. Schnoor.

Foreign Affairs committee  First of all, actions speak louder than words, as you have alluded. There are all these CSR guidelines and all the companies say that they ascribe to international best practices and so on. If that is true, then why would they oppose this independent Bill C-300 to simply affirm

Foreign Affairs committee  My reaction would be that the committee, the government, and the people do not have to take Mr. Schnoor's word and my word for it. The whole purpose of Bill C-300 is to impose another independent level of review by your two ministers to either confirm or deny what these complaint

Foreign Affairs committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair and honourable members. I'm Richard Steiner. I've been a professor at the University of Alaska for about 30 years. I'm a conservation biologist and a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Social and Environmental Accountabilit

Foreign Affairs committee  I can hear you just fine. I hope you can hear me as well.