Environmental Disclosure by Public Companies: a Québec Perspective

1. Introduction

Over the past few decades, public companies have had to provide information to investors on all material aspects of their business activities, their financial performance and their future projects. This continuous reporting is done through periodic disclosure in the form of public documents and releases describing material changes.

In 2005, the Autorité des marchés financiers du Québec adopted National Instruments (NI) 51-102,¹ 52-109² and 58-101³ to specify the nature and scope of information to disclose, to make certain officers accountable for information-gathering and for the accuracy of communications, and to require the disclosure of governance practices. The Québec Securities Act and NI 51-102 provide that a reporting issuer must provide periodic reports of continuous disclosure, including an annual information form (AIF) and a management discussion and analysis form (MD&A), which must be filed annually.