PBI-Canada remains attentive to whether the CORE will be strengthened to protect human rights defenders

Published by Brent Patterson on October 30, 2025 October 30, 2025

Video: Green Party MP Elizabeth May asks in the House of Commons about the future of the CORE, October 20, 2025.

On September 29, PBI-Canada and PBI-Mexico accompanied two representatives from Espacio OSC at a meeting in Ottawa with Terrence Cowl, the Deputy Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

Then on September 30, the delegation met with Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

At those meetings, as well as at meetings with officials at Global Affairs Canada, other Members of Parliament, and civil society allies, the delegation asked about the future of the CORE and the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Mexico.

On September 23, the PBI accompanied delegation also met with Marisol Guerra and Marta Muñoz, representatives from the Xinka Parliament in Guatemala. They were in Canada to call on the government to respect the Xinka People’s decision to seek the permanent closure of Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine.

May asks about the CORE

On October 20, May asked in the House of Commons: “I want to ask the honourable member questions that I initially put to the Minister of International Trade [on September 26 after a meeting with very brave Guatemalan indigenous women who had come to Canada to ask for our help in dealing with a Canadian mining company]. …When will the government appoint a new Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise, and will the office be funded?”

Liberal MP Caroline Desrochers responded: “Established as part of Canada’s membership to the OECD, our national contact point is a top-tier dispute resolution mechanism that promotes the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and helps mediate concerns related to Canadian companies abroad. Canada actively participates in the global network of 51 national contact points, sharing best practices and strengthening our collective approach to responsible business conduct.”

May then asked: “Will this government commit to continuing the Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise? Will that position be filled, and will that office be given the tools required to investigate complaints, such as those of the Xinca people? Will they have their rights to ensure that testimony is actually required and that we can investigate properly and call our institutions to account?”

Desrochers did not directly answer these questions.

UN Special Rapporteur recommendation

On November 14, 2024, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, posted comments she made earlier in the month “calling for the significant strengthening of the CORE.”

Lawlor highlighted: “I have long-standing concerns, however, as to the adequacy of the CORE, in its current form, to provide any adequate form of redress for human rights defenders and the communities they represent when their rights have been violated or been put at risk by Canadian companies operating abroad. This has been reflected in conversations I have had with human rights defenders since taking up my mandate, who, where aware of the CORE, have repeatedly told me they have no confidence in its effectiveness.”

Among her four recommendations, Lawlor calls on the Government of Canada to: “Provide the CORE with legally enforceable powers to compel evidence and testimony from companies, in line with international standards and best practice on ombudspersons’ offices, to enable effective investigations of all cases and overcome the barriers presented when companies refuse to meaningfully engage with the CORE.”

Photo: PBI-Canada joined this civil society meeting with Lawlor in Ottawa, June 2024.

Budget, November 4

PBI-Canada remains attentive to announcements about the future of the CORE, and in particular whether it will be mentioned when Finance minister François-Philippe Champagne tables the federal budget on November 4, 2025.

During their recent visit to Canada, Espacio OSC noted that the Government of Canada had announced in the Canada-Mexico Action Plan $9.9 million in funding for projects in Mexico.

They highlighted: “We believe that this could be supplemented by a similar amount allocated to strengthening the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists over three years, focusing on the application of a gender, community, and Indigenous peoples and communities approach in risk assessments in multi-stakeholder spaces where civil society can participate alongside authorities and international organizations; to increase staffing levels; and to generate political awareness campaigns.”

Further reading: Alternative Federal Budget 2026 notes importance of Canada supporting human rights defenders (PBI-Canada, October 28, 2025).