CANADA EDGES UP IN LIST OF LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS – BUT STILL NOT BACK IN TOP TEN TIER
For Canadians there is good news and bad news in today’s release of Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The good news: Canada has moved up to 76 points and 12th place after scoring 74 points and ranking 14th last year.
The bad news: We have still not returned to the top ten least corrupt list that Canada consistently ranked in prior to 2019.
OTTAWA: Today, Bill C-42 successfully received Royal Assent, paving the way for Canada to have a publicly accessible registry that lists the ultimate beneficial owners of companies. Earlier last month, Senate members heard from the ‘End Snow-washing’ Coalition: Publish What You Pay Canada, Transparency International Canada, and Canadians For Tax Fairness who provided a strong endorsement for the legislation and urged members to ensure it gets through Canada’s Senate without delay. Yesterday, the bill successfully passed all stages of reading in Canada’s Parliament and today it received Royal Assent.
Transparency International Canada (TI Canada) continues to identify the inadequate level of enforcement for corruption offences as the greatest barrier to combatting corruption in Canada. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signalled its agreement with this in its Phase IV report on Canada’s implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention, calling enforcement “exceedingly low”. Almost 25 years after the adoption of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), Canada’s criminal law prohibiting foreign bribery, charges have been laid in only nine cases – a paltry number especially considering the size and dominant industry sector of Canada’s economy.
This report discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with resource development in the province and the importance of transparency and accountability in the environmental assessment (EA) process.
Toronto, August 16, 2023 - Transparency International Canada (TI Canada) is concerned with the findings in the Ontario Auditor General’s special report on changes to the Greenbelt. TI Canada is a staunch proponent of the need for transparency in government processes and that matters such as these should be conducted in a consultative manner.
CANADA EDGES UP IN LIST OF LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS – BUT STILL NOT BACK IN TOP TEN TIER
For Canadians there is good news and bad news in today’s release of Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The good news: Canada has moved up to 76 points and 12th place after scoring 74 points and ranking 14th last year.
The bad news: We have still not returned to the top ten least corrupt list that Canada consistently ranked in prior to 2019.
OTTAWA: Today, Bill C-42 successfully received Royal Assent, paving the way for Canada to have a publicly accessible registry that lists the ultimate beneficial owners of companies. Earlier last month, Senate members heard from the ‘End Snow-washing’ Coalition: Publish What You Pay Canada, Transparency International Canada, and Canadians For Tax Fairness who provided a strong endorsement for the legislation and urged members to ensure it gets through Canada’s Senate without delay. Yesterday, the bill successfully passed all stages of reading in Canada’s Parliament and today it received Royal Assent.
Transparency International Canada (TI Canada) continues to identify the inadequate level of enforcement for corruption offences as the greatest barrier to combatting corruption in Canada. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signalled its agreement with this in its Phase IV report on Canada’s implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention, calling enforcement “exceedingly low”. Almost 25 years after the adoption of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), Canada’s criminal law prohibiting foreign bribery, charges have been laid in only nine cases – a paltry number especially considering the size and dominant industry sector of Canada’s economy.
OTTAWA: Yesterday, Canada’s Standing Senate committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy (BANC) heard from the ‘End Snow-washing’ Coalition: Publish What You Pay Canada, Transparency International Canada, and Canadians For Tax Fairness. The Coalition provided strong support of long-awaited legislation (Bill C-42) for a corporate beneficial ownership, which the Senate is studying. Should this bill pass, it will be a massive blow against money laundering, corruption, tax evasion, and terrorist financing.
TI Canada, together with our End Snow Washing Coalition partners Publish What You Pay Canada and Canadians for Tax Fairness, have together provided a submission to the Department of Finance in response to their Consultation on Strengthening Canada's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime.
At the 2022 Toronto Day of Dialogue on November 17, TI Canada recognized Mr. David Hutton for the 2nd Canadian Integrity Award. Mr. Hutton is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University.
TI Canada also recognized as an honourable mention, the Radio-Canada investigative journalist program Enquête. Representing Enquête at the Day of Dialogue were managing editor, Luc Tremblay and host, Marie-Maude Denis.
On March 24th, Transparency International Chair and President, Susan Côté-Freeman testified on behalf of TI Canada at the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Susan was called as an expert witness on Bill S-217 - An Act respecting the repurposing of certain seized, frozen or sequestrated assets.
Canada is known as an easy place to launder dirty money, or ‘snow-wash’. It’s not just the experts who know this though. International corporate service providers actively promote incorporating companies in Canada to clients who wish to take advantage of lax secrecy laws and low financial crime enforcement.
Following the release of the Pandora Papers, an investigative report published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Executive Director of Transparency International Canada James Cohen provided comments to CBC-Radio One program The Current.
