On general accountability

I'm by no means always a fan of Democracy Watch, particularly when it seems focused on trying to politicize the judiciary. But sometimes it comes up with ideas which strongly deserve public backing...and it's tough to see any apparent reason why the NDP wouldn't be eager to sign onto at least the bulk of Democracy Watch's proposed corporate accountability rules:

Key General Corporate Responsibility Changes
1. Require corporate directors to consider stakeholder interests (represented by workers, customers, communities, social justice and environmental groups) in making decisions, and to account publicly for the extent to which they do.
2. Require corporations to disclose their records of compliance with environmental, criminal, competition, human rights, labour, health and safety laws, and set up an on-line database so that the public has easy access to the information;
3. Establish an effective system to protect, from any form of retaliation, so-called "whistleblower" employees who disclose corporate wrongdoings to the public or to the government.
4. Prohibit corporations that violate laws from receiving grants or contracts from government for a specific period of time (e.g. 5-10 years).
5. Lower the barriers to holding corporations and corporate directors, officers and executives liable for crimes committed by managers or employees working for the corporation.
6. Require corporations to send a flyer to individual shareholders inviting them to join a nation-wide corporate watchdog group.
7. Allow stakeholders to apply for dissolution of a corporation that repeatedly violates laws.

Particularly in the context of the NDP's strength as a voice on ethics with respect to government, it seems to make plenty of sense to ensure accountability in the private sector as well. Hopefully the NDP will take (or has taken) a strong look at the proposal, and will eventually integrate at least the social-responsibility, whistleblower and watchdog-awareness provisions into their platform.