Proposed measures would require mining and oil companies to disclose payments

The Globe and Mail reports proposed new measures
that would require mining and oil companies to disclose payments made to band councils and their corporations. The paper says it is part of Ottawa’s agenda to enhance the transparency of First Nations. Natural Resources Canada says it is “consulting” with industry, non-governmental organizations and Aboriginal communities over this mandatory reporting of payments made by resource companies to foreign and domestic governments. United States and Europe have such rules, but Canada’s initiative would include Aboriginal governments and the corporations they set up. Legislation will be tabled in September unless provincial securities regulators implement the reporting requirement. “We continue to have a lot of questions about the inclusion of First Nations in this,” said Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada, in an interview with the Globe and Mail. “We continue to encourage Natural Resources Canada to consult extensively with First Nations before proceeding on this.”