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Phase IV

Substandard enforcement plagues Canada’s anti-corruption efforts

Substandard enforcement plagues Canada’s anti-corruption efforts

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.