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OTTAWA — he federal government has introduced legislation requiring resource companies to publish what they pay to foreign and domestic governments, with a plan to include First Nations governments after two years.
Representatives of mining and oil and gas industries welcomed the bill Friday, saying it would make it easier for them to demonstrate the benefits of their investments to local communities at home and abroad.
The long-promised legislation was part of an omnibus bill introduced Thursday, and will impose fines for companies that fail to report payments exceeding $100,000. It covers all publicly traded companies, as well as privately held ones that meet two of the following three conditions: have at least $20-million in assets, $40-million in revenue or 250 employees.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to pursue the “publish-what-you-pay” initiative at a G20 meeting in Britain in 2013. Some industry groups had urged the provincial securities commissions to take the lead on the effort to be consistent with similar rules in the United States and the European Union.
Ottawa has included aboriginal governments under the bill as part of its broader push to impose on them new accountability and transparency rules.
First Nations have raised concerns about how the legislation would affect them and their corporations that do business with the resource sector. Ottawa is delaying the implementation of the bill for aboriginal governments for two years to allow time for consultations, though aboriginal leaders question to value of consultations given that a bill has already been introduced in the House of Commons.
Federal officials say the transparency rules will cover all aboriginal bodies and corporations that function in a government role, but not their commercial companies. A spokesman for the Assembly of First Nations declined comment Friday.
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