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Decentralized Democracy

House Bill

Bill C-263

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2022
Responsible Business Conduct Abroad Act
  • Bill C-263, known as the Responsible Business Conduct Abroad Act, establishes the Office of the Commissioner for Responsible Business Conduct Abroad. The Commissioner is authorized to monitor and investigate the business activities of certain Canadian entities operating abroad to ensure their compliance with international human rights law. This Act applies to entities that manufacture, import, offer services, or control other entities involved in these activities. The Commissioner's role is to report on the entities' compliance and make recommendations for improvement. The Act also includes provisions for complaints, investigations, and penalties for obstruction or providing false information.
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Context: House Hansard - 82 - Jun/6/22
Ms. Heather McPherson
Madam Speaker, my colleague's interventions in this House are always very helpful, and I love the opportunity to speak about my bill, Bill C-263. Basically, it is to do what the government had promised to do initially, which is to give us a CORE ombudsperson who has the ability to compel testimony and compel documents. It is basically to give the CORE ombudsperson the teeth necessary to do the job that was promised in the first place. Right now, we have an ombudsperson who was put in place in 2018 and has investigated an entire zero cases of misbehaviour by Canadian companies, despite over 40 complaints by people around the world.
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Context: House Hansard - 48 - Mar/29/22
Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)
moved for leave to introduce 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. She said: Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to stand here today and table my private member's legislation, the responsible business conduct abroad bill. I want to thank the member for New Westminster—Burnaby for both agreeing to second my bill and being such a champion of human rights in Canada and around the world. As elected representatives, we have an awesome responsibility. We have a responsibility to represent our constituents, and it is the honour of my life to represent the constituents of Edmonton Strathcona. However, we also have a responsibility to the greater good, to humanity as a whole and to our shared ambition of a healthy planet and prosperity and opportunity for all people around the world. I am proud to be a Canadian because I believe Canada can and should be a leader in protecting human rights and promoting democratic values around the world. However, sadly, there is a stain on our reputation that we must both acknowledge and correct. For too long, companies headquartered in Canada, many mining and oil and gas companies, have undertaken business operations in developing countries, either directly or through subsidiaries, and in many countries with weak human rights protections, workers and communities are violated and abused. The CORE ombudsperson has been operational for nearly three years, yet the Government of Canada failed to give it powers that were promised. This bill aims to fix what the government failed to provide. This bill aims to repair Canada's reputation in the world. This bill aims to protect indigenous people, women and girls, human rights defenders, activists and all those fighting for human rights and environmental sustainability in their communities and around the world. I hope everyone in the House will support this legislation.
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Context: House Hansard - 42 - Mar/21/22
Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, my next petition is from people from across Alberta. These petitioners note that Alberta is the single largest per-capita contributor to the federal equalization program, contributing over $600 billion since the 1960s. They comment that the current equalization formula was set when Alberta had record growth. Since then, we have experienced job losses and high unemployment. Bill C-69 and Bill C-48 and the failure to build pipelines have devastated the Alberta economy. They are calling on the government to fix the equalization formula, and they are calling on the government to defend and advocate for the building of pipelines so that Keystone XL, in particular, and others can be built.
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