In the 2021 federal budget, the Government of Canada proposed the establishment of a publicly accessible registry of beneficial ownership. After years of critiques by domestic and international actors, this proposal is an enormous win for Canada in the fight against money laundering and tax evasion.
There is still work to do however, to ensure Canada has a best-in-class beneficial ownership registry. In this webinar, experts will discuss key components of a registry that the government must consider and how best to implement them, including:
Data verification
Enforcement and sanctions
Defining beneficial ownership and control
Domestic and international integration
Experts discussing these topics and more are:
James Cohen, Executive Director, Transparency International Canada
Sasha Caldera, Beneficial Ownership Campaign Manager, PWYP Canada
Charlene Cieslik, Chief Compliance Officer, Localcoin
Kevin Comeau, Lawyer
Jack Lord, Beneficial Ownership Lead, Open Ownership
See full bios below.
To register, click on the link here.
James Cohen, Executive Director, Transparency International Canada
James is an anti-corruption expert with a background in international development and security. Prior to becoming Executive Director of Transparency International Canada, James’ work included program management and design, training, research, and fundraising for organizations including the United States Institute of Peace, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, the Global Organization for Parliamentarians Against Corruption, and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces.
James joined TI Canada in 2016 as Interim-Executive Director, and held the post of Director, Programmes and Engagement before becoming Executive Director.
Kevin Comeau, Lawyer
After graduating from Western University Law School in 1982, Kevin practised corporate securities law with Bennett Jones and Campbell, Godfrey & Lewtas (now Faskens), was seconded to the Chairman’s office of the Alberta Securities Commission, and was general counsel of a US public company and then a director and general counsel of an international investment management firm.
Over the last five years, Kevin has developed policies and proposed legislative amendments to combat money laundering in Canada. He is a member of Transparency International Canada’s Working Group on Beneficial Ownership Transparency; he represented Transparency International Canada at the Cullen Commission; and he has authored numerous anti-money-laundering articles published by the C.D. Howe Institute, including “Why We Fail to Catch Money Launderers 99.9% of the Time” and “BC’s Public Registry to Combat Money Laundering: Broken on Arrival.”
Jack Lord, Beneficial Ownership Lead, Open Ownership
Jack is the Beneficial Ownership Lead at Open Ownership, a non-profit driving the global shift towards transparency over who owns and controls companies. Jack is an expert on the technical and policy aspects of beneficial ownership transparency. At OpenOwnership, he is the lead author of the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard, works on resources for country implementers, and conducts research that links the policy and technology strands of beneficial ownership transparency together. Jack is particularly interested in increasing data demand and, over the last year, has written about the potential uses of beneficial ownership data in procurement, internal control and audit, and improving the governance and accountability of state-owned enterprises.
Jack became a Director at Open Data Services Co-operative in 2017, where he provides strategic and technical consultancy across a number of transparency-focused data initiatives. He has a PhD in history.
Sasha Caldera, Beneficial Ownership Campaign Manager, PWYP Canada
Sasha Caldera is managing a national coalition advocacy effort for Canada to create a publicly accessible, pan-Canadian, company registry of beneficial owners. The coalition consists of three civil society organizations: Publish What You Pay Canada, Transparency International Canada, and Canadians For Tax Fairness.
Mr. Caldera brings campaigning and government relations experience at federal and provincial levels. He was previously responsible for leading advocacy campaigns at Engineers Without Borders Canada. His efforts led to legislative and policy victories such as the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) and the creation of Canada’s development finance institution, FinDev.
Charlene Cieslik, Chief Compliance Officer, Localcoin
Charlene is the Chief Compliance Officer of Localcoin, a Toronto-based BitATM company, and advises on anti-money laundering, compliance, risk management/mitigation, innovation, and safety and security as the Principal of ComplifactAML Inc.
Charlene has held C-level roles as the Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Anti-Bribery & Corruption Officer, and Chief Privacy Officer, variously at local and global cryptocurrency exchanges, and several Canadian and Foreign scheduled banks. She has also worked at the “Big 4” accounting firms assisting global financial institutions with AML/ATF program development, post-regulatory exam remediation and AML/ATF investigations. She teaches courses at U of T and York, and is a frequent speaker on the subject of compliance within the Toronto cryptocurrency community, with a specific focus on PCMLTFA and regulations.
Charlene has appeared as an expert witness to the Cullen Commission and is a member of the UN FATF working group on virtual currencies.