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Building Corporate Social Responsibility

Remarks by the Hon. David Kilgour, MP for Edmonton Southeast
and Secretary of State for Africa and Latin America
At the Indigenous Peoples Summit of the Americas, Ottawa March 29, 2001

Honourable Elders present here today, respected leaders of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, brothers / sisters, and ambassadors.

I welcome you to our beloved land and note among you many friends I have made during my travels throughout the Americas.

First, congratulations to the conveners and participants for this very significant gathering of First Nations Peoples to discuss matters that ultimately affect every individual everywhere. This gathering is the result of recommendations made at the Winnipeg roundtable in March last year.

It is a pleasure to encourage your voices in the deliberations on recommendations here that will ultimately impact the Summit of the Americas. This afternoon I’d like to offer some general comments on the question of globalization and corporate social responsibility, two significant themes for your meetings here. I’d like to leave you with a few difficult questions that require the insight and the passion of your community that you uniquely bring from your own experiences.

Let me be candid from the outset: many Canadians fear globalization.

Some say it brings the decay of social values, culture and the environment. Too often the term is thought of as synonymous with unbridled capitalism, where any entrepreneur can raise money anywhere in the world, make anything and sell it anywhere else. Indigenous peoples across Canada and the Americas probably share these same fears about being left behind.

From my perspective however, the real challenge is not to decide whether globalization is good or bad, but rather to ensure that disparities and discrimination are removed, to build equal opportunities for all to participate and prosper. The process should provide fulfilled lives everywhere in the world, and for all sectors of society.

Globalization can be a force to create growth and opportunities. It has opened markets and linked economies and cultures. In empowering individuals and groups as never before, it has led to demands for greater attention to issues such as human rights, environmental protection and labour standards -- issues that form the core of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda.

CSR is not a difficult concept:

Corporate - means organized business

Social - means everything dealing with people

Responsibility - means accountability between the two.

Globalization is not some magical cure-all. You know that regardless of the improvement in democracy and human rights in the Americas, Indigenous Peoples have benefited very little from the economic growth that accompanied democratic development. Just measure the improvements to date in health services and access to education.

More attention needs to be given to managing globalization.

Balancing corporate investment with community investment is a need of the present and future. All nations of the Americas must work together to ensure that the activities of the business community make positive contributions to the communities in which they operate.

As my colleague, International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew, said in a speech in Vancouver last month:

“The fact is that in today's connected world, there is no hiding place for poor corporate citizens and no excuse for poor corporate citizenship. Whether it is labour practices, environmental habits or human rights, companies today must be concerned about their global reputations because their actions can quickly become globally known. The Internet is both the great advertiser and the great tattler; it can open doors faster than you would believe. But it can also close them faster than you'd imagine.”

Governments have ways to ensure that globalization benefits everyone. They can legislate, regulate, and ensure that standards for voluntary compliance are established, monitored and enforced. But more is needed.

The need for partnership between the private sector and indigenous peoples is more important now than ever before. In your workshops you discussed extensively the best practices and the challenges facing indigenous communities across our hemisphere.

This afternoon I am certain you all have your favourite story about good corporate behaviour. At the risk of sounding partisan let me relate one exciting example for you.

Several Alberta companies decided to invest in Ecuador. Their experience proved to be a little difficult and it demanded changes in ways of dealing in a new environment. After overcoming some “teething”problems, a very positive and respectful attitude developed. Having established a climate of trust, all parties engaged in finding common ground.

As a result of this, the Confederation of Ecuadorian Native Peoples (CONAIE) decided to contact their brothers in Alberta and proposed to create a joint venture company in the gas sector. Success is now on the horizon.

This win-win situation can strengthen the managerial capabilities of the local indigenous companies; it will generate revenues, and create a sustainable development opportunity for the native peoples .

This partnership is building bridges between large mainstream Canadian corporations, smaller companies and the local government. Everyone wins.

It should be obvious in this room that indigenous peoples throughout the Americas are well positioned to participate in the management processes of globalization.

They have the skills and the confidence. They appreciate in practical terms the significance of failure or success. My faith is in you as the leaders of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Globalization is already a force for change, not simply some spectre on the horizon. We must temper our optimism with an awareness that there is still much to be done and many challenges ahead as we attempt to ensure that globalization is for the benefit of all peoples in all countries of the world.

The Prime Minister of Canada, in his letter of welcome invites you to engage in a straightforward dialogue and create real partnerships that forge a better future for everyone.

With this in mind I want to ask you for advice on matters that will help me in my work as a parliamentarian.

What are your expectations of governments in the globalization process?

How can the marginalized and the voiceless be heard ?

What should be done to protect cultural integrity and human values shared at the community level ?

Your ideas about these three questions would be very useful to me.

In conclusion, globalization is a continuing process and corporate social responsibility is our business.

Globalization must be more than the profit line of a book ledger. It must have above all a human face .

Thank you.