A federal MP has fanned the flames over Calgary-based Talisman Inc.’s controversial operations in war-torn Sudan at a Calgary conference on global corporate responsibility.

David Kilgour, Canada’s Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, told delegates to the Federico Garcia Lorca Conference on Global Business Issues that he doesn’t know how anybody can justify owning shares in an energy company “that behaves the way Talisman does.”

“That company is behaving in a way that is unacceptable to any fair-minded, knowledgeable Canadian,” Kilgour said, in a response to a question at the convention, held at the Hyatt Regency last Thursday.

Kilgour encouraged other business leaders attending the conference to press Ottawa to toughen the federal Economic Measures Act so “companies will not be allowed to give the Canadian maple leaf seal of approval to countries with situations where people are dying by the day, and we’re contributing to their deaths.”

Kilgour’s statements drew a smattering of applause from the 200 delegates, which included business leaders, students, non-governmental and faith organizations.

International reports have condemned Talisman for partnering with the largely-Muslim Sudanese government in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, claiming it exacerbates the war against the rebels by fuelling government atrocities with oil money.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, introduced legislation that would condemn Sudan’s government for abuses, and require President George Bush to report on oil revenues that finance the war.

In a recent interview with Business Edge, Talisman CEO Jim Buckee noted that 28 of 52 countries in Africa are torn by civil war. The company has paid for medical clinics, food, supplies, fresh water and electrical power in Sudan, he said, and is constantly working on other social and humanitarian issues.

“I hope over time, people will see that if we withdrew, Sudan and the world would be worse off,” he said.

Kilgour stressed that balancing corporate investment with community involvement must be the blueprint for a sustainable future.

“Already an increasing number of companies are recognizing that globalization is transforming corporate responsibility from a choice to an imperative,” said the Edmonton Southeast MP.

Corporate social responsibility, he added, is the positive role business can play in an era of rapid globalization, including safeguarding core labour rights of employees, freedom of association, collective bargaining, child and forced labour, protecting the environment, and contributing to respect for human rights in communities in which they operate.

He praised companies like Nexen (formerly CanadianOxy), Shell Canada and Syncrude for their positive records on these issues.

Eric Newell, Syncrude Canada’s chair and CEO, agreed businesses should expand their interests beyond simply maximizing profits.

“Time was, you could probably get away with not thinking about it too much,” Newell said. “No one measured your emissions for greenhouse gases, and the production line kept moving at almost any cost. But not today. Today, the safety of people at the plant and the health of the people outside has taken on a whole new priority and profile . . . sound environmental management need not be regarded as a drain on corporate revenue.”

While Canadians will continue rely on hydrocarbon based products, they can be provided with increasing efficiency and reduced environmental impact, said Tim Faithfull, president and CEO of Shell Canada Ltd.

Faithfull described how Shell Canada is “building a bridge” to a more sustainable future by pursuing the profitable and sustainable development of renewable energy.

“Increasingly, customers want to feel confident that the products they use are being delivered in an environmentally, socially responsible way,” he said.

David Pollock, executive director for the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development, noted that many citizens believe power has been consolidated into hands of undemocratic free market agents who control global corporations and finance capital.

He urged companies to consider how the most vulnerable will be affected by globalization — the poor and powerless, as well as the biosphere and the fragile ecosystem which sustains the economy.

Added Newell: “We have to balance our primary interest as a commercial enterprise with the wider interest of society, and we must realize our health as a company is very much tied to the overall well being of the world around us.”

Web Watch:
www.pembina.org
www.syncrude.com www.talisman-energy.com/responsibility/sudan