Will new ombud make a difference?

Re Fresh start to establish Canada’s core values, Wells, Jan. 20 Although I want to believe that Canadian companies operating abroad will act better under the new Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, I also fear it may be another lovely promise that doesn’t deliver.

Stopping the human rights and environmental abuses of Canadian extractive industry and garment-manufacturing companies is essential but it will take lots of money.

Will the government back up this promise with enough funding? Will there really be consequences for business miscreants beyond the measly withdrawal of diplomatic and trade supports? Will there be publicly available spreadsheets of consistently documented abuses to inform consumers?

I sincerely hope so. The horror of Rana Plaza will take some erasing but we must do it. Sheila Nabigon-Howlett, Peterborough

Thank you to Jennifer Wells for scrutinizing the recently announced Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise. For years, Kairos and our international partners have called on Canada to hold Canadian companies accountable for charges of violations, which include environmental contamination, intimidation, rape and murder by company security forces.

While we applaud the long awaited announcement of a position to help hold extractive industries accountable for their overseas operations, too much is yet unknown about the position to truly celebrate. How independent will it be? Will it have the power to compel documents from companies? How seriously will the government regard its recommendations? To what extent will the office line up with Canada’s international feminist policy?

For the office to be effective in its protection of the rights of women, men and communities, it must be independent, with power to compel documents and to make recommendations with teeth. Rachel Warden, Kairos, Toronto