The Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct Annual Report to the Commissioner of the
Competition Bureau

Annual Report 2007

Date of Report: February 28, 2008

Review Period: January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007

In 2007 the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct Committee (CDCC) consisted of the following representatives:

Number of registered Signatories to the Code as of December 31, 2007 is 49 non-retailers (including 15 International Signatories) and 57 retailers (totaling 216 stores).

These Signatories comprise of the following:

5 Mining Companies
1 Marketing Company
33 Traders
14 Cutters and Polishers
13 Jewellery Manufacturers
57 Retailers (representing 216 stores)
2 Other

125 Total (some companies registered in more than one category)

Code Committee Meetings:

In 2007 the CDCC held five meetings. Annually the CDCC attempts to hold a meeting with the majority of the Committee members present in person. Two face-to-face meetings took place in Gatineau ; January 30, 2007 and June 28, 2007 .

All of our meetings now include a segment when all Code signatories can call in to the meeting to provide feedback, raise issues or ask questions of the Code Committee.

The Committee engaged in the following activities to create awareness of the Code outside the Signatory base:

- Distributed 330 copies of the revised Code and 4335 copies of the new consumer brochure.
- Maintained a Code website.
- Posted on the Code website The Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct Annual Report to the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau 2006
- The Active Monitoring Reports from the spring and fall campaigns were posted on the web site.
- A Canadian brand list was added to the website to assist consumers in identifying which brands belong to Code signatories.
- Developed a “one page” document explaining the Code and its benefits. It was then sent to all signatories to be used as a marketing tool.
- Articles on the Code were published in the Canadian Jewellers Association's e-newsletter, Jewellers Vigilance Canada's newsletter and in the Quebec Jewellers Associations newsletter.
- An article informing consumers about Canadian diamonds and the Code was sent to Community Content for posting on their web site and distribution to more than 1200 community papers. The same free-for-use article was provided to the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Ottawa Citizen.
- Representatives of the CDCC participated in trade shows and industry events including Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada trade show, one U.S. jewellery tradeshow and three Canadian jewellery trade shows.
-The Code was mentioned in presentations to the 2007 Shanghai International Diamond Conference and the Government of Namibia.
- On 17 September 2007 , one of our members arranged for a government delegation from the Diamond Administration of China to receive a briefing on the Code by officials of the Bureau.  The Chinese government is interested in the Canadian experience with its voluntary Code.  The Chinese diamond industry is growing by leaps and bounds and the Chinese government wishes to gain from the experience of other countries.
- The CDCC members actively recruit signatories from the trade through their day-to-day activities

Industry Issues

Under the Code all diamonds must be permanently inscribed with a Unique Diamond Identification Number (DIN) regardless of size. This revision of the Code took place in 2005.

This means that many small diamonds cannot be claimed as Canadian due to the expense of permanently inscribing smaller diamonds. This issue has been one that the CDCC has grappled with from the inception of the Code. Technology has changed considerably over the years which may mean a less expensive way to permanently inscribe DINs. In the past the CDCC has explored “licensing” a Code signatory to call smaller stones Canadian. The licensing idea will be explored once again in 2008.

Complaints:

The CDCC did not receive any consumer or trade complaints in 2007.

Authentications:

The CDCC received 3 consumer requests for authentication with the following results:

1 completed with confirmed Canadian origin;
2 completed without confirmation of Canadian origin;

The first authentication that could not be confirmed as Canadian was due to the retailer, a non-signatory, not cooperating with the Code office. In the second case, the mine would not confirm Canadian origin. The consumers were informed of their options.

Initiatives:

The Active Monitoring Program (AMP) that began in 2006 continued in 2007. It consists of randomly choosing a number of signatories to supply from their inventory five Diamond Identification Numbers (DINs) to be authenticated by the CDCC. Sixty authentications were successfully completed in 2007. The issue of timely responses from some signatories still poses a problem.

The CDCC formed a working group to explore further discussions on gemmological laboratories participation in the Code. Extensive discussions were held with representatives from the major laboratories and smaller independent laboratories. Three options emerged from these discussions. The options were communicated to the signatory base for review and input. One option was considered “too risky” so it was removed for the time being. The other two options will be discussed further by the CDCC at their annual meeting in early in 2008.

Revisions to the Code web site got underway with a target launch date of January 31, 2008. The site was revised to be more consumer friendly with better navigation tools and clearer information.

Changes to the Code:

No further changes were made in 2007.

Support from the Competition Bureau

The CDCC wishes to thank the Bureau for the continued technical support through the participation of advisors on the CDCC.

Archived Annual Report to the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau:

2006 Annual Report