A national commission is urging governments and corporations to adopt specific measures to expand corporate accountability at home and around the world.
The Canadian Democracy and Corporate Accountability Commission last week outlined 24 recommendations aimed at broadening corporate accountability, which the commission said “has traditionally been confined to how well company directors deliver profits.”
The recommendations are part of a recently released report called The New Balance Sheet: Corporate Profits and Responsibility, which is aimed at encouraging long-term success of Canadian corporations while ensuring a balance with important values.
The report follows a year-long investigation of corporate accountability in Canada by a prominent group of business, labour and political leaders. Hundreds of organizations, corporations and individuals made submissions to the commission during a series of seven hearings across Canada.
“Canadians want to protect the environment and human rights,” said commission co-chair Ed Broadbent, a former NDP leader. “These Canadian values must be reflected in corporate practices at home and abroad.”
Added co-chair Avie Bennett, chair of McClelland and Stewart: “Canadians want a new balance sheet that factors in the social impact of corporate decisions. Our recommendations deliver practical answers for a new system of corporate accountability in the 21st century.”
Commission officials stressed that action must come from both the corporate and government sectors.
The federal government should work multilaterally for the inclusion of set standards in WTO trade rules, according to the report. If such an approach does not succeed within three years, the government “should act unilaterally” to ensure Canadian companies adhere to core human rights standards in their overseas operations.
The commission suggested that all stock exchanges require companies to disclose their corporate social responsibility policies and describe the extent to which they conform to corporate social responsibility guidelines. The Toronto Stock Exchange already requires corporations to disclose their governance practices.
