By Bryn Levy

Sask. MP touts proposed law for resources companies

Nov 21, 2014 | 5:45 PM

A proposed bill winding its way through Parliament is expected to help Canadian companies protect themselves from corruption when they operate overseas.

Labelled the Extractive Industries Transparency Measures Act, it would require mining, oil and gas companies to report payments made to foreign governments.

Saskatchewan MP and member of the House of Common’s Standing Committee on Natural Resources Brad Trost, said the proposed measure is a win for businesses, who will be able to use the law as a shield against attempts to solicit bribes or divert funds.

“(Companies) want this protection so it’s much more difficult to shake them down,” he said.

Claire Woodside is the director of Publish What You Pay Canada. The organization serves as an umbrella group for a variety of non-government organizations (NGOs), and was part of consultations during the drafting of the bill.

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“What this type of legislation does is it deters corruption by shedding light on the legitimate payments companies make. It essentially narrows the field for corrupt practices. It makes it far more difficult for govenments to put companies in a situation where corruption could occur, or for governments to mismanage money in a corrupt way.”

While Woodside said she was pleased to see the legislation clear the committee stage this week, there was some disappointment that the bill doesn’t include language specifying that companies must report payments on a project-by-project basis. She said that could potentially leave the door open to abuses if the only information made available is a lump sum number of what was paid in a given country. She added that similar provisions on project reporting exist in legislation passed by the U.S. and the European Union.

“What we will then be looking for is a clear commitment in the administrative document that this is the government’s intention,” she said.  That ‘administrative document’ would be the regulations that would be drafted to accompany the law once it’s passed.

Trost said that industry, government and NGOs all want project-based reporting, but it wasn’t put into the bill to allow for consultations with the provinces, who will also need to be brought in as there could be overlap with financial and securities rules that fall within their jurisdiction.

“Everyone’s agreed on the principles and we’re all going to try and implement it. The question is: ‘how?’” he said.

In the end, Trost said the law is an important contribution by Canada to the international community

“Canada is the world’s leading mining country. As such, we carry a lot of foreign policy clout on mining issues. This affects countries all over the world: in Latin America, in Africa, in Asia,” Trost said. “Canada has to be the leader on this issue, becasue we are the world’ most important mining country. This is an area where Canada’s foreign policy is crucial to development throughout the world.”

blevy@rawlco.com

On Twitter: @BrynLevy