Canada's mining and exploration industry has prevailed. Bill C-300 has been defeated in the House of Commons. The vote taken late on Oct. 27 was 140 to 134 against the measure that would have given the federal government authority to investigate human rights or environmental complaints against Canadian companies working on projects in foreign lands.
Bill C-300 was tabled by Liberal MP John McKay in February 2009. Most private member's bills fail to pass, but this one almost made it. That it got to third reading is a measure of how important corporate social responsibility is to Canadians.
Canadian mining companies take their CSR duties very seriously, but CSR is a moving target. The definitions and measurements are changing as the discipline evolves. There is no standard rating by which to say a company "is" or "is not" meeting the goals of CSR.
PDAC executive director Tony Andrews told CMJ that Bill C-300 was misguided from the beginning. Happy to note its defeat, he then spoke of the next steps the PDAC is taking to help its members reach their CSR goals.
"We are going to continue as we have all along with our e3 Plus initiative," he said. "The next step is to create the accountability section with guidelines on how to report and how to verify CSR actions."
That is the first of a three-part approach.
The second part is the creation of a special forum of eminent and highly qualified people to examine the subject, identifying gaps in CSR knowledge and the means of improving companies' performance. Such a forum might be housed in the CSR Centre of Excellence, mused Andrews.
The final step in going forward with the mining industry's CSR commitment is establishment of a communications initiative with lawmakers, NGOs and the public. Many avenues of communication were opened as the industry fought C-300, but the interaction must continue.
Do Canadian companies commit human rights violations? Last week ago we asked our readers who had worked for Canadian companies overseas whether or not they had witnessed abuses committed by their employers. Sadly, four (15%) of the respondents said yes. The other 24 said no.
Still that is four incidents too many. Let's aim to make it zero.
Yes, a good CSR record takes money. Sometimes only the large companies can budget for extensive programs and consultation. Smaller companies can communicate with local communities for very little cost, and frequent, honest communication is the foundation of CSR success.
Comments
L.Garden
Are you MAD! This article contains some fallacies i would like to clear up. First of all the bill was defeated by a vote of 135 to 140. You won’t be so lucky next time, there were 13 liberals and 4 NDP absent for the vote. Second, Mining companies DO NOT take their corporate social responsibilities seriously. They are more interested in grossly lining the pockets of their shareholders than cleaning the poisoned river of their hosts community. If companies were genuinely interested in upholding the human rights and environmental standards of their home country then they would have supported this bill. That would give a company an increased competitive advantage because they can inform their host countries that even their government at home supports and approves of their conduct. Also, the standards are not ambiguous at all. They have remained unchanged since the introduction of the international bill of rights and Canada’s adoption of the charter of rights and freedoms, how is that ambiguous or ever changing? The simple fact that companies were against this bill should alert the public to the obvious and well documented truth that these companies are not upholding the standards even they themselves have compiled and promised to uphold. I can understand that companies were concerned false accusations might affect their reputation; however, this is only a hypothetical situation and are we then to say that the odd hurt reputation is of more value then the numerous severe violations that are occurring everyday. the bill also stated that an inflammatory accusations would be cleared by the group examining these accusations and it would be expelled in national publications.
This is one of the worst time in the history of the World to be Canada our reputation is the lowest it has ever been and this is due in large part to the thousands of mines operating abroad that continue to devastate the lives and lands of the people who have allowed you to enter their country. Everyone in the world knows Canada’s dirty little secret except Canadians. This activity is appalling, you people are making billions of dollars on the resources and labor of other people. Does that ring a bell? Wake up and smell the flowers of neo-colonialism.
This bill was an excellent first step and a very prudent one at that. There was room to make numerous adjustments during the months this bill has been on the table but the truth is no one wanted it to exist because the current deal is so sweet for you exploiters out there. I mean who wouldn’t want to have their profits increase by around 300 billion in one quarter. So what if people are dying, being raped, becoming infested with new diseases, unable to eat or drink, having miscarriages, etc… the list goes on! The worst part is that these are not isolated incidents. That is why a bill was developed. The situation is the same across the board, it is occurring, at least to some degree, in EVERY CASE!
Before you begin making any accusation against this bill maybe you should witness or experience the living conditions under which we have subjected these people too; I highly encourage you to go and visit a couple sites and don’t forget to leave your Canadian insignia wardrobe pieces at home because when community members discover your from Canada, your life might be in danger!
Garth K.
I applaud the decision of the 140 that voted against this ill conseaved bill. I also applaud the 13 Liberals and 4 NDP that showed that this was a bad idea by staying home. I also congratulate the Liberal Party and the NDP Party for allowing them to call in sick. It is clear that there is agreement by the “majority” that Canadian mining and exploration companies operate at the highest standards in the world, value human life, offer prosperity and encourage development. However, there is room for impovement and this should be a wake-up call that more needs to be done.
t. isik
Unbelievable to read some 13 liberals and not just that 4 NDP members were missing on that day. what was the difference between The Liberals and NDP? Shame on you Mr Layton!
zipi dachimp
dear mr. garden:
you should carry a basket with you. your head is about to explode. cheers!
Diane B
Having been in developing countries where international mining reap multi-million dollar profits while destroying the livelihood of the indigenous populations, I feel it’s a sad day that Canada’s parliament has chosen mining profits over humanity. International companies need to set a legitimate standard for mining in developing countries thus setting the bar for local mining companies in developing nations to operate. More mine workers will die, people debased, rivers polluted,and land contaminated unless mining companies are made accountable for their actions. We need look no further than the Alberta Tar Sands, Canada’s own shame.
Marshall Beggs
This is an absolute disgrace. And people wonder why Canada is no longer on the security council. We are becoming an international embarrassment thanks to the Harper government. Are these animals even aware of the horrible abuses what is going on in Colombia right now, many of which Canadian mining companies are directly complicit?? If so, how can they live with themselves? And those worthless NDP and Liberal members who stayed home ought to be turfed. This was a critical bill for anyone who gives even half a damn about human rights in the world. All these and any other smug reactionary scumbags like Garth K., need to inform themselves about what is actually happening here.
Rod G
I bet Marshall and Diane, if indeed they ever went to a third world country, did their tour in an air conditioned Land Cruiser, and stayed in a Hilton Hotel. Out in the country, where for fifty years people have died from malaria (no more DDT thanks to leftist activism) and starvation (better to subsidize rich farmers in the EU than pay the cost of transporting African produce to Paris and Brussels), every Canadian exploration and mining operation I saw in my years as a mining engineer were paying wages that were ten times the national norm, and were building schools and medical clinics as part of their development program. In return these companies were subjected to lies and vicious innuendo.
Human rights violations my foot. How about the violations of Canadian Mining entrepreneurial rights?