Bill C-2, The Strong Borders Act (the Bill) was recently introduced in the Parliament of Canada as a centrepiece legislation of the new Liberal Government of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The Bill, if passed, proposes to amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) to:
- Strengthen anti-money laundering supervision, compliance, and enforcement, including through increased civil and criminal penalties;
- Address some of the most prevalent types of money laundering, including through new restrictions on large cash transactions and third-party cash deposits;
- Require businesses regulated for anti-money laundering purposes, that are not already registered, to enroll with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC); and
- Permit disclosures from the FINTRAC to the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.
The Bill also proposes to amend the PCMLTFA with related amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to clarify public to private information sharing provisions to help better detect and deter money laundering and support the recently created Integrated Money Laundering Intelligence Partnership (IMLIP) between banks and law enforcement.
The Bill proposes to amend the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to make the Director of FINTRAC a member of the Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee (FISC), as well as to amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to enable the Director to exchange information with the other members of FISC.
More Information about Bill C2, The Strong Borders Act is available for download from the websites of the Government of Canada.
For more information, please call Barbara Hendrickson at BAX Securities Law (647) 403-4606.
This publication is not intended to constitute legal advice. No one should act on it or refrain from acting on it without consulting with a lawyer. BAX does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or currency or completeness of the publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of BAX Securities Law.