Green Party Calls On Canada Pension Plan To Sell Wal-Mart Shares

A track record of anti-union practices and human rights abuses has plagued Wal-Mart both in North America and in emerging countries. It has been accused of exploiting workers, mostly women, by paying meagre wages that vary from $7 to $13 an hour and by not extending health care benefits to nearly half of their U.S. workers. With its anti-union and corporate philosophy, Wal-Mart hinders regional and community development. New Wal-Mart outlets have all too often led to the loss of small community owned businesses and in many towns and cities have often devastated once vibrant downtown cores. "We must ask the question: what kind of economic system do we want to build our society around? For the Green Party, we choose an economic system that respects human rights and communities," said Harris. "Québecers can be proud to have a just and fair society and Wal-Mart has a duty to honour these values." The Green Party proposes to introduce a Corporate Social Responsibility Act, as one measure that will hold Canadian companies to the highest of standards when they operate in foreign countries. "Canadian companies must never be tagged the Wal-Marts of Canada." Such an Act would ensure that Canadian companies apply comparable environmental, employment and social standards at their foreign operation as they do in Canada. "Divesting from Wal-Mart may be a very small measure in relative terms for the Canada Pension Plan, but it will send an incredibly strong signal about what our values mean to us as Canadians," said Harris. http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releasesfr/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=570809

Note: http://www.ccnmatthews....