Government Introduces "Made-In-Canada" Deferred Prosecution Agreement framework

Following our earlier bulletin commenting on Canada's 2018 Budget commitment to introducing a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) regime for corporate wrongdoing, the Canadian Government swiftly introduced legislation to deliver on its commitment. The legislative framework for DPAs is to be introduced by amendments to the Criminal Code, which in turn are contained within Part 6, Division 20 of the omnibus Bill C-74 - Budget Implementation Act.

In tabling these legislative changes, Canada has taken the critical step in fulfilling its promise to introduce a DPA regime, and given clarity to what it has publicly described as a "made in Canada version" of DPAs.

A brief description of the general nature and purpose of DPAs, as well as their broad impact on the prosecution of economic crime, was contained within our earlier bulletin. This bulletin focuses on the detail of the Canadian DPA regime, as mapped by the proposed legislative framework introduced within Bill