International Trade committee  Unfortunately, I cannot comment, and I will not defend Barrick here. I have visited several Barrick sites around the world, including the one in Tanzania, and I can't say that people have committed illegal acts there, such as murder or the like. However, I doubt that the mining operation itself supervised or condoned such things.

International Trade committee  I respect what you said about the reporting now, and I definitely believe that the mining companies are going in with very important roles for social acceptability and responsibilities. However, the problem the industry is facing is with the local authorities. We're not a government and we cannot act as a government, so we need to work with governments, but very often the government is not so co-operative.

International Trade committee  I'll tell you and then you'll take those comments out, because I'm a bit embarrassed. No, I say that as a joke. When we do our feasibility studies, one of the most important values...well, the price of metals is, obviously, and the price of construction infrastructure is, but the biggest influence is the value of the Canadian dollar.

International Trade committee  No, certainly not. The PDAC, for example, surely assesses many more exploration companies than operating companies. Do you remember determined mining expenditures, as they were called, in the good old days? People would do prospecting, but at the same time finance it by mining a tunnel.

International Trade committee  You've touched on a point, because I'm a proud Canadian. When I started, in 1974, there was a boom in the mining industry. However, there are things we cannot change. It's nature. Nature blessed us with a lot of deposits in Canada, but just to take an example of how nature works for us, there was a big project, Nemaska, on which the Quebec government and the mining industry spent $1.1 billion.

International Trade committee  This is funny, because when you are in some other country, you always have the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. For example, there is one in Peru, one in Chile and one in Argentina. It's like every company would like to be Canadian. Of course we created our own success. If you look at the Toronto Stock Exchange today, it's the main exchange for the mining industry worldwide.

International Trade committee  Do you mind whether I answer in English or in French?

International Trade committee  The Chinese are just about the worst in the mining industry, and we had the same problems when we worked in China. It's like that in Africa and Latin America, but in China too. I guess the reasons are cultural, and again there are big differences. Ms. Vasquez-Olguin mentioned Rio Blanco.

International Trade committee  First of all—I apologize to others who have commented —all self-respecting Canadian companies work according to Canadian standards. Even though there are habits in other countries that are very different from ours, Canadian companies work according to Canadian standards. Next, I heard the cases of the Rio Blanco project and mines in the Cajamarca region being cited.

International Trade committee  We have gone from darkness to today. It's amazing. If you remember, in the late 1970s, Canadian companies, in Canada, were terrible. It was terrible outside the country too, in 1989. Everyone has been reined in sufficiently. There will always be mistakes. Unfortunately, some Canadian companies have made mistakes, and I include Cambior.

International Trade committee  Their role is beyond essential. Before the problem arrives in Canada, an embassy has to be very proactive. The embassy is there to help and monitor Canadian companies in some cases, and to make sure they are following all the principles. I've been through this with several embassies.

International Trade committee  In addition to meeting the standards, there are several challenges. However, the standards are easy to meet: they are written in black and white. What is difficult is integrating with the local culture. Unfortunately, that aspect is not documented. You don't find this aspect in the books.

International Trade committee  We also worked in collaboration with embassies. We knew each other. I was on local committees in the countries where I worked. Colombia has never been a good reference country. Name me one mining company in Colombia that actually meets Canadian standards. There aren't any. You won't even get one on the fingers of one hand.

International Trade committee  It's hard to say. Generally, we are talking about various governments, the local mining industry, local workers or regional governments that we work with. They find it easy to communicate with Canadian companies; they think the companies are open and have high standards. As I explained earlier, there are jealousy issues.

International Trade committee  From my personal experience and my experience over the 18-odd years I was at Cambior, we worked quite well in general with the mining industry. To be honest, I would tell you that, when you come to a country where you don't speak the language, you obviously rely on people you trust.