Last week, we
covered the topic of facilitation payments and discussed some
implications should the exception of facilitation payments be
officially repealed in the Corruption of Foreign Public
Officials Act (CFPOA). The repeal has now
come to fruition. Global Affairs Canada has announced the removal of the facilitation
payments exception from the CFPOA, with the repeal to come into
force October 31, 2017. This exception was repealed by Bill S-14: An Act to amend the Corruption of
Foreign Public Officials Act.
What was the exception?
The following is the facilitation payments exception in the
CFPOA that has been repealed:
Facilitation payments
(4) For the
purpose of subsection (1), a payment is not a loan,
reward, advantage or benefit to obtain or retain an advantage in
the course of business, if it is made to expedite or secure the
performance by a foreign public official of any act of a routine
nature that is part of the foreign public official's duties
