We have been very pleased to see the government take leadership on this issue, and we have played a very important role in the process, and we appreciate the inclusion throughout the process by which this legislation was developed.
But we have pointed here to a few issues that we think could be remedied quite easily, and that would bring Canada up to the global standard.
I think you know Publish What You Pay is a global organization. We represent some of the primary users of this data so the 800 civil society groups in our network are going to be accessing these company reports.
I hear from them all the time as to what they really need. Without the project-level disclosure, if for example some of the countries they live in like Cameroon, which has been put forward as a country from which the oil and gas sector might want an exemption, was to be excluded from the legislation, these are the kinds of things I think would be to the detriment of the purpose of the legislation. This is why we have pointed out these concerns. We stand by the amendments we have put forward. I believe they will strengthen the legislation and bring Canada into alignment without hindering the flexibility that we know industry needs to ensure things like equivalency.
As long as these provisions are in other legislation, and we know they clearly are, we're going to be able to achieve equivalency with other jurisdictions.
Those are the kinds of concerns we hear, and that's what we're expressing here today. It's to make sure this data is used for the purpose of the act.