Author(s):
Lawrence E. Ritchie, Malcolm Aboud, Emilie Dillon, Sarah Firestone, Ankita Gupta
Dec 11, 2023
Canada continued to face international criticism for its perceived lack of white-collar crime enforcement in 2023. As we wrote last year, Transparency International’s (TI) biennial Exporting Corruption 2022 report found a “limited” record of foreign bribery enforcement in Canada. The report recommended increased resources for law enforcement, as well as improvements to Canada’s enforcement of its Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) and enhancements to its remediation agreement regime. This trend continued in 2023. Canada dropped to 14th in TI’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index [PDF] released in January 2023. The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. TI was not Canada’s only critic this year – the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also raised concerns over Canada’s enforcement of economic crime.
Nevertheless, events in 2023 signal an evolving regulatory and enforcement landscape in Canada. These events suggest that enhancements to Canada’s enforcement toolkit will likely be forthcoming in 2024. Businesses should be mindful that these incoming reforms will aim to bolster authorities’ ability to detect, investigate and prosecute various forms of economic crime. In light of these developments, businesses should prioritize familiarity with existing and novel obligations, and proactively implement policies and practices focusing on compliance with those obligations...
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