There is arguably no greater public policy challenge for Canada in the 21st century than marrying the development of our country’s huge potential as a major energy producer with proper respect for the environment.

Canadians expect it, as do the customers for our oil and gas – primarily in the U.S. Indeed, in an age of heightened public awareness of environmental issues and the increased politicization of those issues, it is difficult to see how Canada could reap the many economic benefits of oil and gas production without embracing a philosophy of responsible development.

Of course there are those pessimists who argue – with increasing vigour – that ‘responsible development’ is an oxymoron: that further development of Canada’s oil and gas reserves is a deplorable goal and should be shunned.

Canada is one of the world’s leading mining nations; producing more than 60 minerals and metals, we rank at the top in the global production of many commodities (i.e., uranium, potash, diamonds, and nickel).

National Mining Week celebrates the important role that mining plays in the lives of Canadians. Mining takes place in almost every province and territory in Canada — creating jobs and business opportunities, and supporting industries and workers from rural, remote and Aboriginal communities to our large urban centres.

One of Canada’s strongest industrial clusters has emerged from the mining sector. The sector – which includes activities from exploration and extraction to smelting and refining – has an important direct impact on the economy, generating $36 billion of GDP and providing employment for more than 308,000 workers in 2010. However, the influence of the sector is felt far beyond its direct impact. As many as 3,200 Canadian suppliers and service providers in diverse fields such as machinery manufacturing, environmental consulting, legal services and finance providers count on the mining sector as clients.

If the first challenge for Canadians doing business in Brazil is that our two countries don’t know each other very well, that’s not a hurdle you face in Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago. The Canadian brand, developed over centuries of trade, education, tourism and other contacts, is both strong and pervasive.

Canada’s presence is evident in Barbados from the moment you land at Grantley Adams International Airport, which we helped build. In the short drive to the hotel, you pass Gildan Activewear’s facilities, various Canadian bank branches, and Bert’s Bar, still bravely sporting an Ottawa Senators banner on its exterior. When the Sens were still in the playoffs, less thirsty fans could watch them in their hotel rooms on CBC, which is carried on cable.

Ottawa, May 2, 2012— In a report issued today, Responsible business conduct in a complex world, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce describes how the government should oversee the international conduct of Canadian companies and how companies themselves can improve their performance.

“For most Canadian businesses, responsible business conduct has moved from doing ‘good’ to doing ‘right.’ It’s not about philanthropy anymore - it’s at the core of their operations.” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “During recent debates about government oversight of Canadian companies’ international conduct, business explained what it did not want but still needed to set out its own vision,” he added. “Responsible business conduct in a complex world makes it clear that companies are not satisfied with the status quo and want change.”

Thirty Canadian university Presidents, as well as representatives of our colleges and institutes of technology, accompanied the Governor General on his state visit to Brazil. It was the largest, most high-level official visit of its kind that Canada has mounted.

The delegation’s trip was organised around the Conference of the Americas on International Education, but the delegation’s primary goal was to deepen the joint research and international student ties that already exisit between Brazil and Canada. At the college level alone, there are fifty-two individual institutional arrangements covering a range of issues, including student and facutly exchanges. In addition, several Canadian and Brazilian universities have joint research programs.