PotashCorp shareholders vote down human rights investigation

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“We feel that PotashCorp needs to make certain that it is being diligant from a human rights perspective,” said Sister Elizabeth Davis with the group, “and we believe to do that, they really do have to have an independent, transparent human rights assessment.”

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Davis adds they don’t believe the company is doing anything wrong, or that any human rights abuses are taking place.

During Tuesday’s meeting, 93 per cent of shareholders voted down a motion to launch an investigation. 

PotashCorp had recommended that the motion be defeated.

The company’s Randy Burton noted that this was not the first time the motion had come up at their AGM. He said for them, the issue boils down to a simple question: is there a net benefit for the local workers in Western Sahara?

“We’ve had legal opinions on this, and they commissioned a report by KPMG to investigate these questions,” he said. “There’s significant local employment, there’s significant local training, there’s a fair degree of community investment locally. Our senior management has been to Morocco to confirm that first hand, and they’re satisfied that (OCP) is providing local benefit, and the direction is positive.”

Gary Hawton, who presented the motion in Saskatoon on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy, argued that the previous KPMG report is insufficient.

“The human rights assessment needs to be for Potash and its specific operations, not for the locally-owned operator OCP,” he told shareholders.

When the Sisters of Mercy presented a similar motion to Agrium shareholders in Calgary last week, it was also voted down by a wide margin. However, the company’s CEO and chairman pledged to meet with Sister Elizabeth Davis personally to discuss the issue in good faith.

Burton said PotashCorp would be open to having similar talks.

For her part, Davis didn’t expect her group’s motion to pass. Their goal, she said, was to raise awareness.

“We are hopeful that it will increase the awareness of the issue both among the shareholders and the employees of PotashCorp, and we are hoping that they will commit to ongoing, open, and honest dialogue,” she said.

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