Canada

Recent activities

7 September 2011 – In an effort to promote greater awareness of the importance of EITI, as well as to discuss Canadian engagement, Publish What You Pay Canada co-organized a roundtable event on September 7th featuring Chair of the EITI International Board Rt. Hon. Clare Short. The event was entitled EITI: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward, and featured discussants from the Canadian government, the private sector, civil society and academia.

The event hosted over 70 participants from various stakeholder groups, who engaged in a discussion that addressed a variety of issues related to the EITI, with particular emphasis on the Canadian context. The discussion clearly demonstrated that Canadian stakeholders are very interested in the EITI, as well as broader transparency issues related to the extractive sector, and that continued engagement on this issue is necessary to foster meaningful debate and dialogue. This is especially important in terms of continuing to advocate for the implementation of the EITI by the Government of Canada. The possibility of having some provinces, Quebec in particular, implement the EITI was also discussed.

January 2011 PWYP-Canada co-hosted a roundtable event with Revenue Watch Institute and the International Human Rights Programme at the University of Toronto, on Canadian securities regulations. The event was entitled Harmonizing Canada-US Disclosure Requirements in the Extractive Industries, and brought together the Canadian private sector, regulators, civil society and academics to discuss the potential impact of the US legislation on the Canadian regulatory regime and Canadian companies.

PWYP-Canada also announced the establishment of its capacity building project with the goal of creating greater awareness on how to access and use public information on Canadian companies. The project has two main activities. The first is the creation of portfolios containing public information disclosed by some of the largest Canadian mining companies operating in Africa. This information is drawn from SEDAR, CSR reports, etc., and will be compiled in an easy to read and accessible format. The companies are selected based on demand from PWYP and civil society partners, as well as on the information available. The portfolios will serve as a starting point for PWYP international coalitions in their research, advocacy and monitoring of Canadian mining companies operating in their countries, as well as improve the PWYP Canada coalition’s technical capacity in research and in interpreting publicly available information on Canadian mining companies. In addition, the project will increase awareness and knowledge of avenues for obtaining publicly available information on Canadian companies, for PWYP-coalition members, other relevant CSOs and PWYP international coalition members.