Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability calls for all-party support of two bills in the House of Commons
In this media release, the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability calls for all-party support for two private members bills:
Bill C-262, An Act respecting the corporate responsibility to prevent, address and remedy adverse impacts on human rights occurring in relation to business activities conducted abroad, would require companies to review all their business activities, identify actual and potential risks to people and the planet, take steps to mitigate the risks, and ensure remedy for those harmed. This is called human rights and environmental due diligence.
Bill C-263, An Act to establish the Office of the Commissioner for Responsible Business Conduct Abroad and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, also tabled today, would invest the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) with the powers needed to do its job. Effectively, when the government created CORE, it was in name only. Without powers to order the production of documents and compel witness testimony under oath, the CORE is an ineffective office. Bill C-263 would change that.
“Respecting human rights and protecting the environment are non-partisan issues,” says Emily Dwyer, Policy Director for the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability.
Peace Brigades International (PBI) accompanies human rights defenders impacted by Canadian oil and gas extractivism in Colombia, the sugar imported from Guatemala by two Canadian companies, the mines operated by Canadian companies in Honduras, and a pipeline constructed by a Canadian company on Indigenous territories in Mexico.
PBI supports both the implementation of effective and credible due diligence legislation as well as the passage of a UN Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and human rights.
Our recent statement on the war in Ukraine highlights: “PBI calls for binding legislation that requires companies to fully respect human rights throughout their supply chain and guarantee sustainable economic, social, and environmental investment.”
PBI-Canada is also concerned by the criminalization of Indigenous land defenders in this country, notably the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline on Secwepemc territory and the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory.
We have highlighted the call from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that construction of these pipelines be halted until consent is gained and that the RCMP and other security forces be removed from these territories.
We are following with interest Bill C-262 and Bill C-263.
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