Ottawa to force energy companies to report payments made to native bands – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – April 21, 2014)

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OTTAWA — The federal government is proposing measures that would require mining and oil companies to report all payments made to native band councils and their corporations as part of Ottawa’s push for greater transparency among aboriginal governments.

Officials from Natural Resources Canada are consulting with industry, non-governmental organizations and aboriginal communities over plans to require mandatory reporting of all payments made by resource companies to foreign and domestic governments. Unlike similar regulations in the United States and Europe, the federal rules would include aboriginal governments and their corporations.

The demand for mandatory resource-revenue reporting comes amid a concerted effort by the Conservative government to increase financial disclosure from aboriginal communities to combat concerns over mismanagement and corruption. In a high-profile case last week, the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service charged the former co-manager of the remote Attawapiskat Reserve in Northern Ontario – who is also the common-law spouse of chief Theresa Spence – with two counts of fraud and theft after the band council conducted its own investigation.

Ottawa says it wants provincial securities regulators to implement the mandatory reporting requirement to ensure consistency with U.S. and EU approaches. But if the provincial bodies don’t respond, legislation will be introduced in September and take effect a year from now, Natural Resources Canada said in a recently released discussion paper.

At last summer’s G8 meeting in Britain, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his government would require mandatory reporting of all payments to governments from resource companies, part of a global push to reduce corruption and ensure communities benefit from resource development.

The Mining Association of Canada and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada have led the effort on mandatory revenue reporting. Prior to Mr. Harper’s G8 announcement, they issued a report that recommended the regime be administered through securities commissions. Working with non-governmental organizations, the industry associations have urged governments to move quickly to adopt new rules, and then take more time to consult with aboriginal leaders before including them in the requirements.

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