A new Canadian government strategy for dealing with corporate social responsibility (CSR) for Canada’s extractive industries abroad, has some positive aspects, but fails to have any means of enforcing the strategy or any kind of remedy for abuses, according to the activist group Mining Watch Canada,.
The Canadian government announced on Friday (November 14) that it was announcing an enhanced corporate social responsibility strategy and that for “the first time, the Government of Canada’s ‘economic diplomacy’ [would be] conditional on a Canadian company’s alignment with the enhanced CSR strategy.”
Numerous Canadian mining companies have been accused of human rights abuses abroad when promoting their projects. The Canadian government was held to account for the problems with Canadian mining companies at a UN forum on business and human rights in December of 2013.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda spoke about the new government strategy with Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator, Corporate Responsibility, at Mining Watch Canada.
ListenMore information:
Press release – Government Announces Enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy to Strengthen Canada’s Extractive Sector Abroad – here
Mining Watch Canada press release – Canada’s CSR Strategy for Extractives 2.0 – Government Acknowledges Power to Act, Declines to Do So – here
Mining Watch Canada – It’s time for Canada to be open for justice (web page) – here
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