For over a decade, MiningWatch Canada and the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) have advocated for an effective and independent ombudsperson with the powers to compel documents and witness testimony, in an effort to hold Canadian companies accountable for abuse at their operations overseas.
We advocated for the creation of this ombudsperson's office from the time this office was recommended in the 2007 Final Report of the government's multi-stakeholder Advisory Group until the announcement of the creation of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) in 2018. We have engaged with the CORE since its launch in April 2019.
Now, we make a submission as part of the Government of Canada's review of the CORE, highlighting that necessary improvements must be made to better align the CORE with the Venice Principles and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In particular, the CORE: must be empowered to compel documents and witness testimony in the course of its investigations; must be independent of the Government of Canada; and have stable and adequate funding.