QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise
May 4, 2023
Senator Gold, I’m following up on my previous question to you when I noted that Chevron, the American multinational energy corporation, recently announced it was selling its 41.1% stake in Myanmar’s Yadana gas field to a subsidiary of Edmonton-headquartered MTI Energy Inc.
In contrast, TotalEnergies, a French company, announced in January 2021 that they were exiting the country over human rights abuses and a deteriorating situation with respect to the rule of law.
I asked the following: Why are Canadian companies permitted to invest in this brutal regime? But today, my question is about the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, or CORE. CORE has the mandate to review complaints about possible human rights abuses by Canadian companies when those companies work outside of Canada in the garment, mining and oil and gas sectors, and to promote the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Senator Gold, what is CORE doing about Canadian companies enabling human rights violations by the brutal Tatmadaw in Myanmar?
Thank you for your question, and for mentioning this aspect of Canada’s responsibilities with regard to human rights violations and Canadian companies.
I’m not aware of what the office of the ombudsperson is doing. I’ll make inquiries and report back.