NEW REPORT — PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND SECRET COMPANIES!

As Canada looks to fast-track major nation-building projects — from housing and clean energy to infrastructure and pipelines — one critical question remains:

💡 Do we truly know who’s behind the companies winning these public contracts?

In a new report, “Screening for Risk in Licensing, Permitting, and Procurement,” we examined Licensing, Permitting, and Procurement requirements across multiple jurisdictions in Canada. When we looked at over 100+ provincial and territorial RFPs, we found that just 59% required the full names of beneficial owners, and only 0.8% required partial birth dates!

That’s a problem. Weak transparency rules risk allowing secret companies to siphon public funds, distort competition, and undermine trust — especially as the U.S. backpedals on beneficial ownership transparency.

Authored by Zachary Spicer (York University), this report was produced by The End Snow-Washing Coalition: Transparency International Canada, IMPACT, and Canadians For Tax Fairness.

We are grateful to Sasha Caldera from IMPACT for having project-managed this report, and for the support and guidance offered by our steering committee and members of the Beneficial Ownership Expert Working Group. More notably, we want to thank the following reviewers: Kady Seguin, Trevor Loke, Katrina Miller, and Niamh Leonard.

Canada can’t advance nation-building projects if it builds with secrecy.