WELCOME CHANGE FOR MINING COMPANIES AND THEIR FINANCIERS
Global Affairs Canada announced on May 16, 2023 that Canada has joined the Apostille Convention, formally known as the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. This change will add efficiency for Canadian companies conducting business abroad where legalization of corporate documents and powers of attorney can take several weeks and the legalization requirements can vary significantly depending on the country in which the documents will be used, a well known and common issue for mining companies and their financiers.
Effective January 11, 2024, certain documents including Canadian corporate records and powers of attorney will be submitted for an authenticity certificate called an "apostille" in a streamlined process which eliminates the need for the historic legalization process and will allow documents to be used in any of more than 124 countries that are members of the Apostille Convention. Member countries include, among others, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Cassels will continue to monitor this change. The official announcement from Global Affairs can be found here.
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