Canada Steps Up Its Fight Against Foreign Corruption

As we discussed in an earlier post, the federal government recently introduced amendments to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) to strengthen the government's ability to investigate and prosecute Canadians and Canadian businesses that attempt to gain a business advantage through bribery. On June 19, the amendments were granted Royal Assent.

The CFPOA prohibits giving or offering to give any type of benefit to a foreign public official, or any other person, for the benefit of the foreign public official, where the ultimate purpose is to obtain or retain a business advantage. Since the 2008 creation of the RCMP's International Anti-Corruption Unit, the government has increased enforcement and pursued several high profile corruption cases. Going forward, the government has signalled that it will increase its efforts to combat international corruption.