Regulations

New Regulations: Notification Requirements for Data Breaches

Mar 26, 2018

On March 26, 2018, the Government of Canada announced that, on November 1, 2018, important changes to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will come into force.

In an article from Fasken, among other things, the changes will require domestic and foreign organizations subject to PIPEDA to:

  • notify individuals about privacy breaches;
  • report privacy breaches to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and others in certain circumstances; and
  • keep certain records of privacy breaches.

Review summaries from:

Review the press release on the Government of Canada's website.

Ready or not: Are companies prepared for the TCFD recommendations?

Mar 19, 2018

On March 19, 2018, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released a report on research into 1,681 companies across 14 countries and 11 sectors that shows that there is a gap between the way companies identify climate-related risks and opportunities and how they are preparing to tackle them.

The vast majority of companies acknowledge that climate change poses financial risks for their business with 83% of companies recognizing the physical risks, and 88% identifying policy changes/new regulations as the main risks of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

But when it comes to turning awareness into action, there is still a disconnect in many sectors and countries. For instance, more than 8 in 10 companies oversee climate change at the board level, but only 1 in 10 provides incentives for the management of climate change issues.

Review the press release and the report on the CDP's website.

Canada's 2018 budget heralds introduction of deferred prosecution agreements for corporate wrongdoing

Mar 16, 2018

On March 16, 2018, Dentons released a bulletin that describes the potential impact of the Government’s announcement that it intends to introduce legislation to establish Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”) as “an additional tool to hold corporate offenders to account”, and explains why it could prove to be a significant change to the current regime for tackling corporate crime in Canada.

This commitment followed the release of the results of the Government’s fall 2017 public consultation process, which revealed strong public support for the introduction of DPAs in Canada.

The availability of DPAs to address alleged corporate wrongdoing is potentially an extremely important development for the Canadian enforcement regime. Pursuing serious corporate wrongdoing typically requires the deployment of a very significant amount of resources; indeed, white collar investigations often require gathering and reviewing vast amounts of electronic and paper records, analyzing complex financial data, and to the extent the wrongdoings are international in scope, co-ordination with foreign law enforcement agencies (often against a politically charged back-drop).

The limits of law enforcement budgets in Canada are well-documented, and from a practical perspective, the availability of DPAs is likely to help ameliorate some of the strain on law enforcement resources by providing a means resolve corporate prosecutions without having to bear the enormous demands associated with pursing every case to trial (or else abandoning them entirely).

Review the full bulletin on Dentons' website.

French translation of the GRI Standards

Mar 08, 2018

On March 8, 2018, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced that a French translation of the GRI Standards is now available.

More than 260 French-speaking organizations use the GRI framework to produce sustainability reports that clearly show their economic, social and environmental impacts. And with the change from G4 Guidelines to GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards), these organizations can work with a new clear, modular model to help them improve on their reporting.

Review the press release and the French translations on the GRI's website.

GAO Report Reviews SEC Actions on Climate Disclosure

Feb 28, 2018

In February 2018, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the report "Climate-Related Risks: SEC Has Taken Steps to Clarify Disclosure Requirements", which reviews the steps that the SEC has taken to clarify climate-related risk disclosure requirements, the SEC’s climate disclosure review process and the constraints the SEC faces in that process. The report also assessed stakeholder views of climate-related risk disclosures.

The GAO says that the biggest constraint that the SEC faces in reviewing the adequacy of climate-related disclosure is its dependence on self-reporting.

The GAO also found that, not surprisingly, companies think they’re doing enough in terms of climate-related risk disclosure. But while some investor groups push for more, the GAO says there’s not a clear consensus on how big a priority this should be.

Review the full report on the GAO's website.

Purpose Beyond Profit: The Value of Value – Board-level Insights

Feb 28, 2018

In February 2018, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) released the results of a survey of executives from across the globe that seeks to understand trends and challenges in measuring, disclosing and understanding the value that companies create.

In the survey, 96% of respondents agree that bringing financial and non-financial information together provides a more forward-looking, longer-term view of performance.

Executives globally agree on the increasing benefit of understanding and communicating the value creation potential of their organizations to build relationships with stakeholders and improve integrated thinking and strategic decision-making.

But the latest Purpose Beyond Profit: The Value of Value – Board-level Insights survey shows executives lack the management and reporting information to understand and interpret the future drivers of their business.

Review the report on the IIRC's website.

Federal Budget Allocates Significant Funds towards Cybersecurity

Feb 28, 2018

On February 28, 2018, Miller Thomson published an article on how the 2018 Federal Budget includes investments in several key areas of the Canadian economy, including in the area of cybersecurity. In his remarks, the Minister of Finance stated that “to safeguard Canadians’ privacy, and protect both our digital economy and our country, we are making an investment of over $750 million in cybersecurity.”

The proposed investment will serve primarily to establish the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and the National Cybercrime Coordination Unit, which will serve as pillars of the federal government’s soon to be announced National Cyber Security Strategy.

Review the full article on Miller Thomson's website.

Overcoming 3 Roadblocks to Strategic Resource Allocation

Feb 28, 2018

On February 28, 2018, FEI Daily published an article on how the highest corporate priority is to create long-term value, which requires resources be allocated to businesses, products and customers that can deliver profitable growth.

Corporate success often falters due to sub-optimal Strategic Resource Allocation (SRA), which includes the allocation of capital, marketing and R&D across existing businesses, which will be covered herein, but also acquisitions, debt repayment, dividends and buybacks.

Review the full article on FEI Daily's website.

Moving Canada forward: Insights from the 2018-2019 federal budget

Feb 28, 2018

On February 28, 2018, we released our analysis, Moving Canada forward, where we explore how the federal budget advances three key areas where we believe bold action is needed to ensure the future prosperity of our businesses and our country.

In this year’s budget, the federal government outlines how it intends to support economic growth, promote sustainability, and foster a thriving, inclusive society for all Canadians in a time of rapid change and ongoing uncertainty.

What does the federal budget mean for Canada and Canadian businesses?

We discuss the following three areas:

  • Focusing investment and resources to drive competitive advantage
  • Accelerating the flow of people, goods and ideas
  • Disrupting the status quo in education and skills development

A video is also available where Albert Baker, Canadian Tax partner and Global Tax Policy Leader, offers his insights on the corporate tax measures contained in the 2018-2019 federal budget, reviewing both domestic and international tax proposals. And David Mason, Canadian Tax partner, discusses changes affecting private companies and their shareholders.

For more information, review the publication and a video.

Insights from the Reporting Exchange: ESG reporting trends

Feb 27, 2018

On February 27, 2018, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) released a new report that maps global and regional environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting trends.

Compared to the development of financial reporting, the evolution of non-financial reporting has been rapid and fragmented. There are many regulations, reporting frameworks, guidance and tools which influence the corporate reporting process on environmental, social and governance issues (ESG). The resulting reporting landscape has been described in recent reports by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission1 and ACCA2, as complex, overwhelming and there have been calls for more harmonization and alignment.

The report is intended to help business navigate global sustainability reporting trends.

Review the report on the CDSB's website.

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