The Green Party of Canada is endorsing the 15 recommendations for bank accountability and corporate responsibility as proposed by Democracy Watch. “These recommendations have been developed over the past ten years by coalitions of citizen groups and as we can see with the Occupy protests across the country, people want change,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
The recommendations deal with increasing corporate responsibility by such means as requiring greater consideration of stakeholder interests, including consideration of environmental impacts, disclosure of records of compliance with laws and regulations, and whistle-blower protection. Bank accountability would be increased through the creation of a Financial Consumer Organization to help bank customers, better tracking of how banks are serving the needs of all customers, investigation of excessive service charges and unnecessary closure of branches, and higher penalties for violations of the Bank Act. The full list of the recommendations can be found at http://dwatch.ca/camp/RelsOct1211.html.
“Citizen watchdog groups can be a powerful force to protect the public good and keep big business honest,” said May. “Democracy Watch has played this role well and the protesters make it clear that more such groups are needed. The idea of a watchdog for each business sector in Canada would certainly help keep corporations and banks accountable.”
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Contact Information:
Rebecca Harrison
media@greenparty.ca
c: 905.999.5479