An Ombudsperson with Teeth
In January 2018 the Government of Canada announced the creation of an independent ombudsperson office with robust powers to investigate allegations of human rights abuse tied to Canadian corporate activity overseas. It has still not delivered on that promise.
The Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability has spent over a decade advocating for a human rights ombudsperson with real powers to investigate abuses and redress the harms caused by Canadian companies operating abroad. The federal government finally announced the creation of such an independent watchdog in 2018, and pledged that the office would have the crucial powers to compel testimony and the production of documents from companies. This announcement was applauded by civil society and labour groups, including the CNCA.
Canada still needs an independent ombudsperson with the #power2investigate
Despite its explicit and public commitment, the government subsequently bowed to industry pressure and gutted the office’s powers before it even got off the ground. In April 2019, the government created a powerless advisory post that differed little from the discredited offices that had come before it. Sheri Meyerhoffer was appointed as the Special Advisor to the Minister of International Trade Diversification, to be known as the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. It remains an ombudsperson in name only, without the independence and powers that are the foundation of an effective office.
At the time, Minister Carr said that the promised powers to independently investigate would need to wait a little longer – until the results of an external legal review were made public, in just a few weeks’ time. Fast forward more than 18 months later and the report remains buried and the office of the CORE remains powerless.
Our analysis of the serious deficiencies of the CORE’s mandate are available here and here.
It was because of assurances that the CORE would have independence and real investigatory powers that we stood alongside the government in January 2018 and we promoted the announcement both nationally and internationally.
— Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada
Will the CORE be transformed into the Ombudsperson that was promised?
During the 2019 federal election campaign, several political parties committed to making the CORE independent and giving it the investigatory powers it needs, including the power to compel documents and testimony. See the responses here.
In a September 2019 letter to the CNCA, Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr acknowledged that the Ombudsperson needed investigatory powers to be effective, and committed to creating a “stand-alone legal framework for the office, including stipulating its powers to compel documents, witnesses, and other key testimony.” Ms. Meyerhoffer has publicly stated that she would also be pressing the government for these powers.
Then in late November 2020, the office of the Minister of Small Business, Export Development and International Trade cemented the CORE’s fate, informing the CNCA that Canada will not give the CORE the promised powers to compel documents and testimony after all.
Canadians, civil society and impacted communities around the world continue to wait for Canada to get serious about its international human rights obligations and to put in place effective corporate accountability mechanisms. We expect the government to fulfill its commitments. We will not be waiting silently.
Take action today and write, call or visit
- Your Member of Parliament,
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and
- Minister of small business, export promotion and international trade Mary Ng
Remind the Prime Minister and Minister Ng that Canada must keep its promise and immediately provide the CORE with the independence and powers she needs to do her job.
Ask MPs to take a stand and publicly support the immediate establishment of an effective ombudsperson.
Remind them that the ombudsperson we need is:
- Independent from government and big business;
- Has the tools and mandate to independently investigate, including the power to compel documents and testimony under oath from Canadian companies; and
- Is oriented around advancing human rights.
Learn more
Latest on the Ombudsperson
CNCA’s Supplemental feedback to CORE consultations (Standard Operating Procedures & Retaliation Framework)
This is supplemental feedback to the third submission from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) in response to requests for input on the various iterations throughout 2020 of the draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the Canadian Ombudsperson for [...]
CNCA’s 3rd submission to CORE consultations
This is the third submission from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) in response to requests for input on the various iterations throughout 2020 of the draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). Our central message [...]
May 2020 Empower and Enact Challenge
EMPOWER and ENACT | Social Media Challenge for Canadians | CNCA Parliamentary e-petition launch Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BXGhCtI-3Z3DoUT7TkM4M1I-7djfb_h1?usp=sharing Week 1 Action: Launch of FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM FIVE FRIENDS Challenge + Share image: Empower and Enact Mining companies’ abuses are getting out of hand: environmental destruction, human [...]
Correspondence with the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise
CNCA correspondence with the CORE: Letter to CORE – Neve. Dwyer. Coumans 13.02.2020 Letter re CORE visit to South America. 02.2020 Responses received from the CORE: Ltr to CNCA visit to South America 21FEB2020
Impacted communities are advised to “Approach with Caution” – Canadian civil society groups raise alarm about Canada’s Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)
Earlier this year, members of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) learned that the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) was planning to travel to Colombia and Brazil without having consulted with local communities or [...]
A year has passed and no government action to be seen: press release relaunch
CNCA originally issued this press release on April 8, 2019. We changed 9 words and it was current to 2020. That is how little the government of Canada has done to deliver on its promise of an independent ombudsperson with [...]
An Ombudsperson with Teeth
In January 2018 the Government of Canada announced the creation of an independent ombudsperson office with robust powers to investigate allegations of human rights abuse tied to Canadian corporate activity overseas. It has still not delivered on that promise.
The Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability has spent over a decade advocating for a human rights ombudsperson with real powers to investigate abuses and redress the harms caused by Canadian companies operating abroad. The federal government finally announced the creation of such an independent watchdog in 2018, and pledged that the office would have the crucial powers to compel testimony and the production of documents from companies. This announcement was applauded by civil society and labour groups, including the CNCA.
Canada still needs an independent ombudsperson with the #power2investigate
“It was because of assurances that the CORE would have independence and real investigatory powers that we stood alongside the government in January 2018 and we promoted the announcement both nationally and internationally.”
— Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada
Will the CORE be transformed into the Ombudsperson that was promised?
During the 2019 federal election campaign, several political parties committed to making the CORE independent and giving it the investigatory powers it needs, including the power to compel documents and testimony. See the responses here.
In a September 2019 letter to the CNCA, Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr acknowledged that the Ombudsperson needed investigatory powers to be effective, and committed to creating a “stand-alone legal framework for the office, including stipulating its powers to compel documents, witnesses, and other key testimony.” Ms. Meyerhoffer has publicly stated that she would also be pressing the government for these powers.
Then in late November 2020, the office of the Minister of Small Business, Export Development and International Trade cemented the CORE’s fate, informing the CNCA that Canada will not give the CORE the promised powers to compel documents and testimony after all.
Canadians, civil society and impacted communities around the world continue to wait for Canada to get serious about its international human rights obligations and to put in place effective corporate accountability mechanisms. We expect the government to fulfill its commitments. We will not be waiting silently.
Take action today and write, call or visit
- Your Member of Parliament,
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and
- Minister of small business, export promotion and international trade Mary Ng
Remind the Prime Minister and Minister Ng that Canada must keep its promise and immediately provide the CORE with the independence and powers she needs to do her job.
Ask MPs to take a stand and publicly support the immediate establishment of an effective ombudsperson.
Remind them that the ombudsperson we need is:
- Independent from government and big business;
- Has the tools and mandate to independently investigate, including the power to compel documents and testimony under oath from Canadian companies; and
- Is oriented around advancing human rights.
Learn more
Latest on the Ombudsperson
CNCA’s Supplemental feedback to CORE consultations (Standard Operating Procedures & Retaliation Framework)
This is supplemental feedback to the third submission from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) in response to requests for input on the various iterations throughout 2020 of the draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the Canadian Ombudsperson for [...]
CNCA’s 3rd submission to CORE consultations
This is the third submission from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) in response to requests for input on the various iterations throughout 2020 of the draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). Our central message [...]
May 2020 Empower and Enact Challenge
EMPOWER and ENACT | Social Media Challenge for Canadians | CNCA Parliamentary e-petition launch Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BXGhCtI-3Z3DoUT7TkM4M1I-7djfb_h1?usp=sharing Week 1 Action: Launch of FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM FIVE FRIENDS Challenge + Share image: Empower and Enact Mining companies’ abuses are getting out of hand: environmental destruction, human [...]
Correspondence with the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise
CNCA correspondence with the CORE: Letter to CORE – Neve. Dwyer. Coumans 13.02.2020 Letter re CORE visit to South America. 02.2020 Responses received from the CORE: Ltr to CNCA visit to South America 21FEB2020
Impacted communities are advised to “Approach with Caution” – Canadian civil society groups raise alarm about Canada’s Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)
Earlier this year, members of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) learned that the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) was planning to travel to Colombia and Brazil without having consulted with local communities or [...]
A year has passed and no government action to be seen: press release relaunch
CNCA originally issued this press release on April 8, 2019. We changed 9 words and it was current to 2020. That is how little the government of Canada has done to deliver on its promise of an independent ombudsperson with [...]