Mineral Exploration

Photograph : Goldcorp Inc . F A L L 2 0 1 5 21 T he Government of Canada has unveiled an enhanced corporate social responsibil- ity (CSR) strategy, a succes- sor to its first CSR strategy released in 2009. The new strategy does more to encourage responsible behaviour abroad; it also has more muscle to penalize resource companies that won't commit to prescribed best practices and dispute- resolution processes. The new strategy, Doing Business the Canadian Way: A Strategy to Advance Corporate Social Responsibility in Canada's Extractive Sector Abroad, was released in late 2014. Under it, responsible com- panies will be eligible for "enhanced Government of Canada economic diplo- macy," such as letters of support, advo- cacy efforts in foreign markets and participation in government trade mis- sions. Companies that don't follow the rules risk losing these and other benefits, including potential support from Export Development Canada, the financing Crown corporation. The carrot-and-stick approach is a significant departure from the 2009 initiative, which was widely criticized as being weak and ineffective. Indeed, most complaints filed with the first gov- ernment-appointed CSR counsellor were not even investigated because companies declined to participate in the voluntary process. Alexandra Lamont, CSR unit deputy director with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, helped draft the enhanced strategy. She says the changes flowed from a review of the 2009 effort, which recommended that trade commissioners work more closely with companies on the ground. To that end, the g o v e r n m e nt h a s pledged increased support and training to help trade com- missioners and their staff detect issues of concern. If war- ranted, these issues will be brought to the attention of the CSR commissioner, who will work to prevent and resolve disputes in their early stages. The Office of the CSR Commissioner was also given a stronger mandate to pro- mote CSR guidelines and to advise com- panies on how to incorporate the guide- lines into their daily operations. "This Office is unique," Lamont says. "I'm not aware of any other country that has it." Lamont says another lesson learned from the past is the need for clear pro- tocols. Companies working abroad need to understand the respective roles of the trade commissioners and the CSR coun- sellor, as well as the handover process for when issues escalate into disputes. Disputes that can't be resolved locally or with the help of the CSR commissioner will now be referred to Canada's National Contact Point (NCP), a respected dispute- resolution mechanism based on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, pro- duced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "If companies refuse to participate, their names will be made public," Lamont says, citing the case of China Gold International Resources Corp. as a recent example. The ability to refer disputing parties to the NCP allows the new CSR com- missioner, Jeffrey Davidson, to focus on preventing minor issues from escalating into major problems. As a first step, he believes that companies of all sizes must be familiar with and prepared to imple- ment globally recognized CSR standards. "I think it's important to help compa- nies understand what the standards mean practically, and also what the expecta- tions of the Government of Canada [are]," Davidson says. "Companies must get their heads around human rights, and what it means to build relationships [and to] respect local culture and sacred and protected areas." The list of benchmark CSR guide- lines has grown since 2009 to include the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Raising the bar THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA HAS UNVEILED A NEW STRATEGY TO ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR ABROAD By ViVian Danielson >> CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Practising corporate social responsibility brings rewards: Local communities near Goldcorp's Marlin mine in Guatemala support continued exploration now that they see the benefits of the mine.

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