To enhance transparency and reduce corruption in the global oil, gas and mining sectors, the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) requires companies in those sectors that are active in Canada to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, certain types of payments made to governments in Canada and abroad. The ESTMA disclosure requirement applies to companies which are engaged in the commercial development of oil, gas or minerals that are either: (i) publicly listed on a Canadian stock exchange, or (ii) private companies that do business in Canada if certain asset, revenue and employee thresholds are met (Section 8(1) of ESTMA). All entities under the ESTMA, including those that do not enrol or submit a report, may be subject to compliance verification and enforcement actions. Compliance activities include initial report validation based on the ESTMA Report Validation Checklist; reconciliation exercises to identify anomalies in the data; mail outs about compliance issues; and detailed compliance reviews. Non-compliance with ESTMA may result in companies being required to pay up to CAD 250 000 ($ 186 000) per day per offence.
Source: Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-22.7/page-1.html; Extractive Sector Transparency https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/services-for-the-mining-industry/extractive-sector-transparency-measures-act/18180
