Bill C-25, amending the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, received Royal Assent on Friday.
The changes are aimed at improving Canada’s ability to combating organized crime and terrorist financing.
“One of the best ways of putting these criminals out of business is to starve them of the funds they need to finance their activities. This new legislation will improve our ability to act decisively,” said federal finance minister Jim Flaherty, in a news release.
The amendments make Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime consistent with new Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. They also follow recommendations made in the 2004 Auditor General’s Report and in a 2004 Treasury Board evaluation of the regime.
The amendments include:
- Enhancing information sharing between the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), law enforcement and other domestic and international agencies.
- Creating a registration regime for money service businesses.
- Enabling legislation for enhanced client identification measures.
- Creating an administrative and monetary penalties’ regime to better enforce compliance with the Act.
The government has already announced funding for key partners, with $64 million in additional funding over the next two years for FINTRAC, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Department of Justice.