Reporting payments made by mining, oil and gas companies to public organizations

Enterprises that explore for or develop mineral substances or hydrocarbons must report payments to different levels of government and Indigenous nations and communities on an annual basis. These transparency measures are designed to discourage and detect corruption and foster the social acceptability of projects.

The ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts is responsible for applying the Act respecting transparency measures in the mining, oil and gas industries, but its administration is entrusted to the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

Any enterprise ^{Read the content of the note 1} that meets one of the following criteria must report certain payments:

• engages in exploration for or development of mineral substances or hydrocarbons;
• holds a permit, right, licence, lease or other authorization to carry on those activities;
• controls an organization that meets one of the first two criteria.

It must also meet one of the following requirements:

• It is listed on a stock exchange in Canada and has its head office in Québec.
• It has an establishment in Québec, exercises activities or has assets in Québec and, based on its consolidated financial statements, meets at least two of the following conditions for at least one of its two most recent fiscal years:
  • it has at least $20 million in assets;
  • it has generated at least $40 million in revenue;
  • it employs an average of at least 250 employees.

If you are subject to the Act, you must report various payments made to public organizations, including taxes, royalties, licensing fees, dividends, etc.

Refer to the Guidelines (PDF 432 Kb) document which is used to guide enterprises subject to this statement.

You must file a statement with the AMF within 150 days following the end of the fiscal year in which any of the above payments were made.

1- You must provide a PDF document in the form set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.

2- The statement must be accompanied by one of the following documents:

• A certificate from an officer or director. This certificate must confirm that the information provided in the declaration is true, accurate and complete.
• A report from an independant auditor. This report must meet recognized auditing standards in Canada and confirm that the entity subject to the Act is in compliance with regulatory provisions.

3- You must submit all your documents through the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+).

A statement filed in compliance with the requirements of a competent authority whose rules have been designated in the Regulation as acceptable may be substituted for the statement required by the Act. The substitution may be made on the condition that the statement and the certificate or independent auditor’s report, as the case may be, are filed with the AMF via SEDAR+.

In cases of non-compliance, administrative monetary penalties may be issued. For example, the AMF may impose a penalty of:  

• $1,000 for each day the statement is filed late;
• $10,000 for each day the enterprise refuses or neglects to comply with the Act.

In addition, anyone who commits a penal offence under any provision of the Act is liable to a fine not exceeding $250.000.

For more information, please consult the general framework (PDF 275 Kb) for the application of administrative monetary penalties.

The AMF publishes a list of companies that have filed an annual payment statement. Consult the register.