The Canadian Securities Administrators admitted its decision to pause the development of a climate-related disclosure mandate for public issuers is intended to be temporary and wants to bring it back, said Grant Vingoe, chief executive officer at the Ontario Securities Commission.
Last week, regulatory leaders across Canada met to find common ground against the current roadblocks preventing a more transparent sustainability disclosure model.
Read: PIAC urging CSA to resume work on climate disclosure mandate
“It was an indefinite pause, . . . We are looking for the circumstances when it would be appropriate to bring back that discussion about incorporating [Canadian Sustainability Standards Board] standards into mandatory requirements.”
Concerns of backlash from the U.S. are causing senior Canadian issuers to embrace CSSB standards “relatively quietly,” said Vingoe, even though it’s an effective engagement tool with institutional investors.
“It’s led to more candid discussions with institutional investors and not always put out into the public domain,” he said, noting this quiet effort is due to a negative standpoint with U.S. risk.
The CSSB’s inaugural standards became official at the start of 2025. However, these are voluntary measures for companies or investors to adopt and recognize. Vingoe said there are headwinds about the integration of these measurements in Canada due to uncertainty from the U.S. securities market.
“There’s talk about whether the U.S. will continue to fully recognize [International Financial Reporting Standards] for foreign issuers because of the IFRS commitment to sustainability disclosure. There is an underlying narrative where it’s still very difficult for integrated markets, North American markets, to fully embrace the mandatory sustainability and climate related disclosures.”
The CSSB is mounting an aggressive outreach campaign to gain feedback on the hurdles of implanting its disclosure standards by Canadian companies, CSSB Chair Wendy Berman said.
Read: Paving the future of sustainability disclosure in Canada at the CSSB
“I use sustainability disclosures the same way we’re talking about short-, medium- and long-term exposures and opportunities for your company. You do not need to be perfect, you need to be rigorous.”
Last month, the OSFI released a report collecting standardized climate-related emissions and exposure data from financial institutions to help guide the progress of climate risk management. OSFI’s Superintendent Peter Routledge said they’re noticing momentum toward harmonized sustainability disclosure frameworks and a strong consensus on how climate risks should be viewed as financial risks.
“Reliable, granular data is essential to translate climate risks into financial metrics, and OSFI’s Climate Risk Return, the Bank of Canada’s scenario work, and CSSB’s standards are complementary parts of a system connecting science, finance and oversight.”
Read: CSSB releases financial reporting, climate disclosure guidelines