Canada backtracks on legal firms reporting
The Associated Law Societies of Canada have succeeded in their attempts to overturn some of Canada's requirements that lawyers report
The Canada Gazette carries details of the changes which will mean the end to the constitutional challenges facing the government arising out of the provisions of The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act and Terrorist Financing Act 2002 which greatly expanded on the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act 2000 that had, itself, caused some controversy. Under the 2002 Act, the legal profession was required to reports suspicious transactions and monetary transactions above a threshold figure.
The intention is that lawyers will be released from the reporting obligations in Part 1 of the 2002 Act. However, the reprieve is temporary: the government of Canada fully intends that law firms will be required to join the rest of the financial services industry in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. It will meet the profession to find a way of resolving the issue within the constitution. But if it is unable to do so, constitutional change should not be ruled out.
Download PDF version of this page