Canada Slides Again on Corruption Perceptions Index
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Toronto
Canada’s score dropped three points to 74 out of 100 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and fell two places to 13th out of 180 countries, behind peers like the UK, Germany, and New Zealand. Canada fell out of the top 10 least corrupt countries in 2019 and has never recovered while its all-important score has dropped eight points over the past five years.
Experts have estimated that $43-$113 billion a year are laundered through Canada. “The problem of money-laundering in Canada and other corruption scandals have been headline news in recent years dragging down the perception of Canada as a clean country. This year’s disappointing results show the need to take concrete action to restore Canada’s reputation.” said TI Canada Executive Director, James Cohen.
Major political scandals and constant headlines of money laundering woes are not the only issues undermining transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in Canada. Canada’s whistleblower protections have been criticized by international organizations and access to information legislation is out of date. The ongoing effort to bolster Canada’s securities regulations through a national securities regulator also fell apart in 2021.
“Canada’s pristine image has been tarnished in recent years and we are seeing the ripple effects from it”, said TI Canada Chair and President, Susan Côté-Freeman. “There appears to be some movement in the works for Canada to address these problems, but after years of talk, Canadians and the international community need to start seeing results to reverse the tides.”
There are some hopeful developments. The Canadian government has pledged new resources towards anti-money laundering, including announcing the establishment of a publicly accessible corporate beneficial ownership registry by 2025 and a new specialized financial crime authority. It will take time for both to be set up and have the intended positive impact.
On the provincial front, the British Columbia Land Owner Transparency Registry became publicly accessible and the Government of Quebec passed Bill 78 making beneficial ownership information publicly accessible on the provincial corporate registry. Compliance with the BC registry was, however, deferred by a year following lobbying from law firms for their clients.
“We’re hearing some of the right things from the federal government and some provinces, but political will to address Canada’s gaps needs to be ramped up,” said Cohen. “After dropping eight points on the CPI in five years, Canadians don’t want to see their country’s standing fall any further”.
About the CPI
The 2021 edition of the CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives. It uses a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Canada’s score is based on eight sources.
Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand top the CPI with a score of 88 each. South Sudan sits at the bottom of the CPI with a score of 11.
For Media Enquiries Please Contact
James Cohen
Executive Director, Transparency International Canada
E-mail: ti-can@transparencycanada.ca
Phone: 416-488-3939