THUNDER BAY, Ontario — October 7, 2025 (Robinson-Superior Treaty, Fort William First Nation Territory) — The Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA) is widening its research partnership with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law to strengthen accountability around Ring of Fire development.
The project began with a focus on human rights impacts of mining through the Faculty’s International Human Rights Program (IHRP). It now adds the Faculty’s Investor Protection Clinic (IPC) to examine investor safeguards and sustainability reporting.
A new partnership with Waawoono Consultancy will help advance an innovative corporate reporting platform. The tool aims to give companies a standard way to report on Indigenous rights, ESG practices, and human rights compliance.
“As development pressures in the Ring of Fire intensify, true corporate accountability requires leadership from our regulatory bodies,” said ABPA President Jason Rasevych. “It’s time for the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, the Ontario Securities Commission, and the Canadian Securities Administrators to embed UNDRIP and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent into the fabric of our capital markets. Ignoring Indigenous rights is a material risk, and our reporting standards must reflect that.”
What the expanded project will do
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Identify reporting gaps on Indigenous relations and human rights in public disclosures.
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Create clear FPIC metrics so investors can judge corporate performance and risk.
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Build and pilot the corporate reporting platform with partners, setting a new accountability benchmark.
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Publish a final report with recommendations for corporations, investors, and regulators, including the OSC and CSA.
ABPA says aligning reporting standards with Truth and Reconciliation and UNDRIP is not only the right thing to do, it’s essential risk management for companies and markets involved in the Ring of Fire.
