International Trade committee  Yes. The network has been around since 2005. We were involved in the national round tables. We worked closely for quite a long time to advance Bill C-300, for the creation of the ombudsperson's office, and for human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. We also wo

International Trade committee  I think I'd like to give a bit of an example. One is that we look at the situation of the rules for driving, for example. Most drivers are going to respect a stop sign or a stoplight because it's the right thing and they don't want to hurt people around them, but some will need

International Trade committee  Our network focuses on the rights of impacted people around the world and on ensuring that companies are required to respect those rights. Part of the reason this is important is that the international system right now allows companies to operate with virtual impunity. We see p

International Trade committee  Statistics do not show that Canadian mining companies are better than others around the world. I can give some statistics. For instance, a study conducted in Latin America by the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project shows that 28 Canadian mining companies were linked to

International Trade committee  I have not done that comparison, and if that's what it sounded like, no, I was not saying that Canada and the United States have better laws on this plane. I was saying that I don't think there is statistical evidence that Canadian companies are definitive leaders. What is the ca

International Trade committee  There are some really clear examples of this. I'd say first that the United Nations is clear that companies are required to respect human rights around the world and that Canada has international human rights obligations to make sure that third party actors, including companies,

International Trade committee  My apologies, Chair. What we have seen from other jurisdictions.... For example, I could bring out some quotes from a five-year study of the U.K.'s modern slavery reporting registry. That approach revealed no significant improvements in companies' policies or practices and faile

International Trade committee  As I was saying earlier on the responsible business conduct strategy, one of the pieces brought up previously was around integrity declarations or digital attestations, and that was touted as kind of the hallmark of this responsible business conduct strategy. It's essentially a c

International Trade committee  Yes. Our network has never recommended that anyone not file a complaint. That said, once we've explained what can be achieved through the office, no partner wants to file a complaint against the mining companies.

International Trade committee  That's an excellent question. In our opinion, an effective office should have a budget to conduct investigations. The very purpose of the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise is to ensure that people are not left on their own by mining companies. Howeve

International Trade committee  In 2014, the CSR strategy was updated to include the withdrawal of trade commissioner supports if companies were implicated in abuses. That is the improvement that we saw in the strategy back in 2014. We still do not feel that it is effective. As I said earlier, the reliance on

International Trade committee  One of the things I would point to, with all due respect to MP McKay, is the description of Bill S-211. The effect of it that you gave last week, in my view, misrepresents what the impact of the bill would be. The statement that company directors would be required to examine thei

International Trade committee  Our focus right now is advancing mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation in Canada. As you rightly pointed out, several ministers have been mandated to advance legislation to eradicate forced labour and to make sure that Canadian companies are not invol

International Trade committee  I can give you the example of our member Above Ground. There is an entire website, Out from the Shadows, that details EDC's practices and the need for tighter regulations. In particular, that organization has a document that sets out eight cases in which EDC funding was granted

International Trade committee  I'm pleased to see Ms. Meyerhoffer finally acknowledge that her office doesn't have the tools needed to conduct real investigations. However, our network found that several years ago. We dealt with the organizations that used to exist in Canada, particularly the Office of the Ex