| Development and Peace is urging the Canadian Government to implement the recommendations of the National Roundtables on Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries, and appoint an independent ombudsperson.
"The government has been studying the report of the Advisory Group for one full year. It’s time for action," said Michael Casey, Executive Director of Development and Peace. The ground-breaking report was released in Ottawa on March 29, 2007.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated his government’s support of the National Roundtables report at the close of the G8 Summit in Germany in June 2007. In a statement he said: "Implementation of the recommendations from this process will place Canada among the most active G8 countries in advancing international guidelines and principles on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this sector."
Mr. Casey said it is urgent for the government to follow through on that commitment. "People living in the Global South are counting on Ottawa to ensure that Canadian mining companies are called to account."
The result of a landmark consensus between civil society organizations, academics and the extractive industry (mining, oil and gas), the 27-recommendations report called for the establishment of a Canadian CSR Standard and the appointment of an independent ombudsperson to verify compliance. It also described procedures for withholding government services to companies in cases of serious non-compliance, while also supporting the development of tools to promote good practice in the extractive sector and adherence to the CSR framework.
The appointment of an ombudsperson has been at the centre of the 2007-2008 Development and Peace education and action campaign. Sixty percent (60 %) of mining companies worldwide are Canadian, and according to a 2006 UN report, most of the human rights abuses of transnational companies can be attributed to mining, oil and gas companies.
More than 170,000 Canadians have signed the Development and Peace action cards calling for the creation of this independent office to hear and investigate the concerns of those living in the Global South who are affected by the activities of Canadian mining companies. "Canadians support the creation of a mining ombudsperson and so do our partners who are living with the negative impacts of irresponsible mining practices which have led to contaminated water, environmental degradation and forced relocations," said Hélène Gobeil, Programs Coordinator, Education Department.
Pedro Landa, deputy director of Caritas Tegucigalpa, a Development and Peace partner said his organization is working at the national level to improve the weak mining laws in Honduras that enable foreign mining companies, including Canadian ones, to operate in ways that would be unacceptable in their home countries. But Hondurans also need help from Canada: "An ombudsperson would mean that we could quickly establish the facts in a credible way. That would be a very powerful tool in our work to hold companies to account for irresponsible behaviour."
"The increasingly frequent conflicts in different parts of the world between mining companies and affected communities…are a sign that we can no longer continue to adhere solely to the logic of the business market that operates on the principles of 'the less invested, the greater the profits'. It is necessary to adopt regulatory mechanisms that guarantee that these industries (extractives) are made responsible for their actions and behaviour not only in the countries where they operate, but also in their countries of origin", wrote prominent theologian Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez of Honduras, president of Caritas Internationalis, in an open letter to the Canadian government in November 2006, during the National Roundtables hearings.
Recently, the UN's Special Representative on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations, John G. Ruggie wrote: "I concur fully with the statement issued by Prime Minister Harper at the close of the G8 Summit…" In a letter sent to the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability of which Development and Peace is a member, he added: "I very much look forward to the conclusion of this important effort."
The Development and Peace action card is available at: www.devp.org
The report of the National Roundtables on Corporate and Social Responsibility and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries is available at:
http://geo.international.gc.ca
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