http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/business/
http://www.traceinternational.org/trace-matrix/
Canada is the second-least corruption-prone country in the world, with only Ireland having a lower risk of bribery, according to a new index measuring business corruption.
The study comes as business groups across the country pressure the federal government into rescinding strict new rules that would ban companies convicted of bribery and other corrupt acts from winning government contracts.
The first edition of the TRACE Matrix, developed by the anti-bribery non-profit TRACE International and the RAND Corporation, names Nigeria as the country with the highest risk of bribery. It scored 97 out of 100; Canada scored 22, with Ireland coming in at 20 (the higher the score, the higher the risk of bribery).
The index looks at four broad areas: businesses’ interactions with government; anti-bribery laws and enforcement; government transparency; and and capacity for civil oversight, including media. But Canada being named one of the least corrupt countries is not the same thing as Canadian business being declared to be corruption-free.
Many Canadian companies that operate abroad have been accused of bribery and other forms of corruption. Since 1999, these companies have been subject to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, which makes it a crime in Canada for a business to bribe officials in other countries, provided some part of the corruption involves Canada.
Canadian mining companies, in particular, have been accused of bribing officials. This year, Canadian mining industry groups came together to endorse a plan to increase transparency in the industry, in order to combat corruption.
Engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin, which is heavily involved in mining activities, has been banned from doing business with the World Bank, due to ongoing allegations of corruption in numerous developing countries.
The company’s former CEO, Pierre Duhaime, was arrested by Quebec police in 2012 on fraud charges., having resigned earlier over allegations of $56 million in improper payments.
For the rest of this column, click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/11/most-corrupt-countries-least-corrupt_n_6140324.html