When bribery and corruption run rampant within governments, they
greatly erode our social fabric—negatively impacting such
things as the provision of services such as schools, roads and
hospitals, standards of living and global climate change efforts.
They are estimated to cost the global economy upwards of one
trillion dollars per year. That's why, back in 1999,
Canada—along with many other countries around the
world—signed the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials in International Business
Transactions.
Over the last four years, many countries have been working
together to build upon those original 1999 commitments and create
stronger anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations—a step
that has resulted in phenomenal progress worldwide. While this is
definitely something to celebrate, there is still a lot of work to
be done. While many large public corporations have taken the
necessary steps, many private businesses in the middle market
