The Board of Directors of Transparency International Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Trevor Loke as the organization’s new Executive Director, effective June 17, 2024.
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.
As part of Transparency International Canada’s mission to promote how Canadians can uphold transparency and combat corruption, TI Canada will be presenting the 3rd instalment of the Canadian Integrity Award at the Toronto Day of Dialogue on November 30, 2023.
The Canadian Integrity Award recognizes an individual or organization who has demonstrated a commitment to tackle corruption and uphold transparency while setting an example for other Canadians to take action.
During Transparency International Canada’s 26th Annual General Meeting on June 22nd, 2023, three new members were voted onto TI Canada’s volunteer Board of Directors by the TI Canada membership. These members bring with them a deep understanding of TI Canada’s mission and a dedication to strengthening transparency across Canada. TI Canada is very pleased to welcome these new Board Members, a new Chair and President, and a renewal.
Transparency International (TI) Canada releases its white paper on how Canada can develop a national financial crime agency.
Over the last two decades Canada has been criticized at home and internationally for its weak enforcement record in response to money laundering, foreign bribery, sanctions enforcement, and other criminal offences that could fall under the broad category of ‘financial crime’.
Budget 2023 introduces a number of reforms and elaborates on ongoing initiatives to strengthen Canada’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime. These measures are welcomed by a coalition of civil society organizations – Publish What You Pay Canada, Transparency International Canada, and Canadians For Tax Fairness.
Le score du Canada dans l'Indice de perception de la corruption (IPC) 2022 de Transparency International stagne avec une note de 74 sur 100. Mais si le Canada est resté dans le peloton de tête des pays les moins corrompus, son classement est cependant passé de la 13e à la 14e place, dépassé par l'Australie et l'Irlande.
There is a moment of increasing political will by wealthy democratic nations address global corruption, especially in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With potential leadership from the US, and emerging interest from countries like Canada and the Netherlands, it is critical that this political will for anti-corruption focus domestically as well as internationally.
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.
As the federal government prepares to launch a public beneficial ownership registry in 2023, the current state of corporate data across all 14 Canadian jurisdictions is an opaque patchwork – leaving Canada vulnerable to money laundering and other financial crimes. Provinces and territories are the weakest link.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing governing body, recently held public consultations concerning its guidance on trusts. In Recommendation 25 (R25) of the FATF guidelines for members, the FATF calls upon countries to “ensure that there is adequate, accurate and timely information on express trusts, including information on the settlor, trustee and beneficiaries that can be obtained or accessed in a timely fashion by competent authorities”.
