The issue
In February 2009, the Liberal party introduced Bill C-300: An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil, or Gas in Developing Countries. Contained in this bill were a series of proposed punitive measures if a Canadian-owned oil, gas, or mining company was judged to be behaving in a manner inconsistent with yet-to-be-defined guidelines.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network across the country mobilized to lobby against Bill C-300 as the proposed legislation would institutionalize a process for launching sensational-and unproven-accusations against Canadian extractive companies, alleging they are engaged in the most repugnant of activities in developing countries. Bill C-300 would also establish an unnecessary and duplicate process for dealing with complaints against Canadian mining, oil, and gas companies, which must already abide by internationally-recognized corporate social responsibility guidelines. Our voice was heard loudly.

What we got for you
On October 27, 2010, members of Parliament defeated Bill C-300.

How does this benefit me?
Canada’s mining, oil and gas companies are world leaders and know that responsible behaviour at home and abroad makes good business sense. Their reputation for good citizenship wherever they operate in the world is an invaluable asset that they work hard to maintain. The passing of Bill C-300 would have harmed the tens of thousands of families who work in the extractive sector as well as severely hobbled Canadian extractive companies’ international competitiveness and reputations, while doing little to further the interests of people in developing countries.