The public disclosure of hundreds of reports detailing payments to governments by Canadian extractive companies heralds a new era of transparency for the mining sector, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) working closely with the country’s Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) says.
The reports, filed with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and posted on its website, have been made available owing to the implementation of the ESTMA, which requires all Canadian registered and listed extractive companies to disclose the payments they make to governments that exceed a C$100 000 threshold, creating greater transparency over the taxes, royalties and other forms of disbursement that companies pay.
