The Canadian government has ignored an all-party panel’s call for laws to control the actions of Canadian mining companies in developing regions such as Latin America, opting to boost its promotion of voluntary measures instead. In its response to a June report by the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) agreed the government should boost its support for environmentally and socially sustainable business practices abroad. But it said that ultimately, such initiatives must be voluntary, and the monitoring of foreign firms must fall to host countries. “While the government is able to keep abreast of some Canadian private-security activity…both in Canada and abroad as well as through information from stakeholders, the primary... [Log in to read more]