Pettigrew’s take on recent mining issues

Pierre Pettigrew carved out a reputation as one of Canada’s more savvy ministers during his time spent as both the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of international trade.

His insight into matters of international trade and diplomacy were recently recognized by the influential Warwick Commission which asked him to chair the commission’s examination of the global trading system.

Pettigrew also has a direct connection to the mining industry as he sits on the board of Alder Resources (ALR-V), which is part of the Forbes & Manhattan group of companies.

Forbes & Manhattan held its first annual resources summit in Palm Beach, Florida from November 3 to 5th where Pettigrew and a host of other notable speakers spoke on the issues facing resource companies in the developing world.

The Northern Miner managed to catch up with Pettigrew via telephone to get his opinion on some of the more recent developments in the mining industry and how the industry is fairing overall on matters of corporate responsibility.

TNM: What is your feeling about the fall of bill C-300?

Pettigrew: I was against it. It is not very useful to have the Canadian Parliament meddling into the business of Canadian companies around the world. It is up to the local country where they operate to set the guidelines and then they have to respect those guidelines.

We are in competition with a number of other countries and while we want our companies to respect the sovereignty of the country they are operating in we also want them to be on an equal footing with that competition.

Do you feel that the government’s decision against BHP’s acquisition of Potash corp. will hurt our reputation as country that promotes foreign investment?

When it comes to important national assets in Canada I believe it is best to work with the province, and so I think the government is doing the right thing.

In general, I’d like to see more foreign direct investment in Canada, but when it comes to strategic assets, as these are, the government has to be able to step in.

In the past you have defined the phenomenon of exclusion – where certain community members do not feel a part of economic development – as a central challenge to foreign direct investment. What role can mining companies play in the developing world to help avoid this problem?

It is very important that companies contribute to the prosperity of the community.

To allow us to mine in their territory, we have to leave something to them afterwards whether it is in the form of improved education or health care. We have a responsibility, for example, to set up things like education programs for the children of miners.

In your opinion, has there been much progress made in the industry over the last 20 years in the area of corporate responsibility?

I have seen some progress. When I was Canada’s International Trade Minister, in the late 1990s, at that time I was already witnessing a kind of shift. I think it has continued in that direction and with the good commodities bull market I think people are more aware of corporate responsibility issues now than ever before.

Can you explain what you mean when you say internationalization is giving way to globalization?

What I mean by that is that more and more borders are beginning to matter less and less.

The role of government is less significant than in the past, with borders around the globe become more porous.

I would say the international phenomenon was more prominent in the 1940s and 50s when government’s role in economic relations was more significant.

Now we are seeing governments becoming less significant and we are seeing the private sector and NGO’s develop greater prominence.

You sit on the board of Alder Resources, a company which itself is active in the developing world, what was it about the company that made you want to be a part of it?

I’ve liked Colombia for a long time, it’s a country that is going places and I admire what it has been doing in last 10 years. I want to see how Alder can contribute to that and so I have been quite pleased to have been invited on to the board.