Competing and Collaborating in Canada’s Oil Sands

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Twelve oil sands producers recently announced the creation of a collaboration to accelerate improvement in environmental performance, the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA): “Through COSIA, participating companies will capture, develop and share the most innovative approaches and best thinking to improve environmental performance in the oil sands, initially focusing on four Environmental Priority Areas [...]


TEDxCalgary – Donna Kennedy Glans – Volunteering: The Next Generation

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Alberta’s Oilsands: Regeneration as the Aspiration

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

The story-line is familiar: Big Oil wants to produce, transport and market Alberta’s Oilsands at a pace needed to sustain economic yields and Canadians’ quality of life. Environmentalists want to slow down, contain, restrain, even stop, Oilsands activity to sustain the Earth, the ecology and human habitat. Both economists and environmentalists focus on ‘sustainability’ as [...]


Size of CEO ego huge warning sign for fraud

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Apparently, the most reliable indicator of financial fraud is not good corporate governance practises, but rather, the ego of the chief executive. “Governance doesn’t seem to matter,” says Michel Magnan, one of three authors conducting further studies into financial reporting fraud in Canada. “It looks good but it doesn’t substantively have the impact we’d hope [...]


EU oil sands ranking disturbs

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

By: Claudia Cattaneo You’d think that the European Union has enough on its hands dealing with the sovereign debt crisis that it doesn’t have the capacity to fire up a new one. Yet the European Commission did just that when it approved this week a green ranking of fuels that singles out Canada’s oil sands [...]


Coming back from the dark side (of corporate integrity)

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

No one seems terribly excited when a company (simply) complies with rules and laws. What we seem to be looking for are companies that go beyond compliance to voluntarily commit to successively breathtaking thresholds of environmental and social impacts…and on a sustainable basis. When we do talk about the dark side of corporate integrity—we’re prone [...]


What do you think of Wal-Mart?

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Wal-Mart. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone mention this company? Everyone seems to have an opinion. My mother, a farm-wife in rural south-western Ontario, won’t set foot in a Wal-Mart. In her opinion, Wal-Mart has squeezed out a swath of mom-and-pop businesses in the rural community where she lives. [...]


Who cares about corporate integrity?

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

A colleague recently responded to my invitation to participate in this Corporate Integrity learning community. And, he asked some great questions that I’d like to share, and attempt to answer, in this blog.  “I really like the concept and measurement tool and I’m glad to see you returning to the ideas you and Dr. Bob presented in [...]


Celebrating Meaningful Labour

Monday, September 5th, 2011

It’s Labour Day – a stat holiday when many take a break from work to actually think about what work means to us. In the present economy, if you have a job, that fact alone may be sufficient cause for celebration. Bemoaning a lack of ‘meaningful’ work could be frowned upon. And yet, we all [...]


IHRP Releases Guide “On Disputed Ground” for reviews of mining, oil, gas CSR

Friday, August 26th, 2011

From: University of Toronto – Faculty of Law The International Human Rights Program (“IHRP”) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law is pleased to announce the release of a plain-language guide to assist affected communities to access the Review Process of the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Counsellor for Canada [...]