Staying Ahead of the Curve: Meeting Canada's Commitment to Transparency and Good Corporate Citizenship in the Extractive Industries

This paper features a comparison of the disclosure requirements in Canada and the US, following the US adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act. The paper focuses on two specific requirements set out in the new law, including disclosure of payments to host governments and reporting on measures taken to assure conflict minerals do not enter a company's supply chain. It concludes that harmonizing Canadian disclosure requirements with those set out in the Dodd-Frank Act is necessary in order to ensure investor protection for companies operating on both sides of the border, as well as for Canada to live up to its commitment to transparency and corporate accountability.