Canada's Enhanced Corporate Responsibility Strategy: Comply Or Risk Losing Government Support Abroad

With interests in more than 8,000 properties in more than 100 countries, Canadian extractive-industry companies account for almost half of the world's mining and mineral exploration activity.

It should therefore come as no surprise that Canada has come under scrutiny in the past, by international organizations like Transparency International and multilateral organizations like the OECD, for its less-than-rigorous corporate social responsibility (CSR) leadership abroad. In fact, it wasn't until 2009 that Canada published its first CSR strategy, providing ethical guidance to, and laying out the government's expectations of, Canadian companies abroad.  

Fast-forward five years and the government has had the opportunity to engage industry groups across the country, soliciting feedback on the strategy and taking note of important suggestions for improvement.