UN official criticizes Canadian delays setting up corporate ethics watchdog
Canada's international reputation will be damaged if it doesn't give real power to its new watchdog on responsible corporate conduct, warns a United Nations rights watchdog... Deva said he was disappointed that International Trade Minister Jim Carr commissioned a further legal review, due in June, to assess what the ombudsperson's powers should be when Carr finally filled the new job three weeks ago... Deva said if the government settles on anything short of full power to compel companies to supply witnesses and documents in Meyerhoffer's investigations, it will hurt Canada's reputation as a human rights leader... The new ombudsperson was intended to improve on the current "corporate responsibility counsellor," which has faced widespread criticism as a toothless entity in addressing misconduct complaints against Canadian companies, mainly in the mining industry.