Presented by Liberal MP John McKay, the Bill ensures that Canadian mining companies respect Canada’s commitment to international human rights standards. It also puts into practice several of the recommendations made by the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries on March 29, 2007. This initiative already has broad support in the Federal Parliament.

“The Canadian government missed an important opportunity to prevent Canadian companies from severely harming the communities in which they operate. We hope that by supporting Bill C-300, which is in the spirit of the National Roundtables recommendations, we will be able to reverse this decision.” says Michael Casey, Executive Director of Development and Peace.

Released on March 26, two years after the National Roundtables had submitted their consensus report, the Canadian government’s response proposes voluntary actions only and displaces the blame for irresponsible behavior from mining companies to developing countries.

For the past two years, Development and Peace and other members of civil society, as well as numerous Members of Parliament from all parties, have pressed the government to put the recommendations into place.

In May 2008, Development and Peace presented postcards signed by 190,000 Canadians to the Office of the Prime Minister, calling for the establishment of an ombudsperson who would receive the complaints of victims of Canadian mining companies. Since then, 100,000 additional signatures have been obtained. As of yet, no ombudsperson has been put in place.

Development and Peace has worked closely with its partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to ensure that the voice of communities affected by mining was heard.

“From the minute the company went in there were problems… There are skin problems, the livestock is not well and the water is contaminated. International attention can help” says Berta Estrada, a Honduran woman who lives in a community near the Entre Mares mine, owned by Canadian company Goldcorp Inc.

Members of Development and Peace have also held 90 meetings with Members of Parliament to talk to them about corporate social responsibility and ask them to sign the postcards.

Bill C-300 has gone through the first half of the second reading and is scheduled for a second hour of debate at the House of Commons on
April 3, 2009. It will then be submitted to a committee for review and will return to the House for voting at a later date.

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