The first day of June saw the coming into force in Canada of the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act, which compels extractive companies to publicly report any significant payments they make to governments at home and abroad. While there are already anti-bribery laws on the books, the commendable intention behind this latest "publish what you pay" legislation is to empower local populations in foreign countries to gain a greater understanding of what payments are being made to their governments by Canadian mining and oil and gas companies, and hopefully better hold their governments accountable for using incoming funds wisely.
展开▼
