Author(s):
Victoria Graham, Elizabeth Sale, Lawrence E. Ritchie, Haley Adams
Jan 11, 2023
Following key legislative and regulatory developments in the Canadian financial services space over the past several years, regulators focused in 2022 on bridging regulatory gaps, fleshing out details and working towards operationalizing new systems and frameworks. Payments were the subject of particular attention, with the objective of more effectively modernizing and regulating the ecosystem in Canada. Key areas of interest included payments modernization initiatives, such as Payments Canada’s Real-Time Rail and the Retail Payments Activities Act. New anti-money laundering (AML) measures aimed at certain businesses were imposed in the payments industry. The long-awaited introduction of open banking in Canada moved forward. Finally, we saw increased inter-regulatory cooperation on cryptoassets. Work is underway, and change is certainly ahead.
Anti-money laundering
On February 14, 2022, the federal government took dramatic measures in response to ongoing blockades and protests in Ottawa by invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time since that legislation was enacted in the 1980s. Specific emergency measures announced on February 15 took aim at perceived payments gaps in the AML regime. Included were additional obligations for certain reporting entities already subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (the PCMLTFA) in order to surveil payments flowing to fund the blockades. Additionally, new obligations were imposed on entities that had not previously been subject to the PCMLTFA, such as crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers. For further information about the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, please see our Osler Update...
Read or listen to this Legal Year in Review 2022 article