The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) has hit back at a leaked report painting Canadian mining companies as worldwide violators of their corporate social responsibilities.
In a statement Wednesday, PDAC, which represents the mining industry, said a study on the public’s perception of the Canadian exploration and mining industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) record deals with “unproven allegations.”
PDAC also made a point of declaring that the study, which it commissioned in 2009, was meant for “internal industry deliberation.”
The response comes a day after MiningWatch Canada released the report that said Canadian mining companies are implicated in four times as many CSR violations as mining companies from other countries.
“This report – done for the biggest industry lobby group – confirms what we have been saying for years: that violations of good corporate behaviour by Canadian mining companies in developing countries are numerous and widespread,” said Catherine Coumans, a research co-ordinator with MiningWatch. “Clearly this is not just a case of a few bad apples, as the industry’s boosters would like us to believe.”
The report is troubling for Vancouver’s booming mining industry, which is home to approximately 800 mining companies, or 60% of the Canadian exploration industry.
MiningWatch is the corporate watchdog of Canada's mining industry, and is supported by environmental, social justice, aboriginal and labour organizations across the country.
According to the group, Canadian mining companies accounted for 63% of 171 “high-profile” CSR violations between 1999 and 2009.
PDAC said the study suggests Canadian mining companies are alleged to be involved in approximately five CSR violation incidents per year.
“Canada is the headquarters for more than 75% of the world’s mining and exploration companies. PDAC found the results encouraging but with room for improvement,” PDAC said Wednesday.
If nothing else the report has renewed the debate over Bill C-300, which, if passed, would create a governmental framework to handle environmental or human rights complaints against Canadian mining firms operating internationally (See “Bill could lead to mining company exodus” – issue 1064, March 16 to 22).
PDAC and other mining industry associations have said the bill would hollow out the Canadian mining industry, while MiningWatch believes it could be the only way to rein in bad corporate behaviour.