Canada has a new ombudsperson for corporate responsibility abroad, 15 months after the government announced it was creating the post. But unions and NGOs are reacting angrily to uncertainty and limitations over the ombudspersonöÏÓãÊÓƵapp powers to investigate human rights abuses.

CanadaöÏÓãÊÓƵapp bishops have listened for years as frustrated Church leaders in the developing world decry Canadian companies for acting as if the worker codes and human rights mandated by Canadian law become optional when operating abroad.