Canada to enhance its toolkit to address corporate wrongdoing
GATINEAU, QC, March 27, 2018 /CNW/ - Corporate wrongdoing imposes significant economic and social costs on Canadians. The Government of Canada has in place a number of tools to detect, prevent and address this type of misconduct, protecting Canadians and the Canadian economy.
To build on these tools and fulfill a commitment made in Budget 2018, the Government of Canada today announced it will be enhancing the government-wide Integrity Regime and has introduced legislative amendments to create a made-in-Canada version of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) regime, to be known as a Remediation Agreement Regime.
Remediation agreements would be subject to prosecutorial discretion and judicial approval and oversight. They would help to advance compliance measures, hold eligible organizations accountable for misconduct, while protecting innocent parties such as employees and shareholders from the negative consequences of a criminal conviction of the organization.
The government-wide Integrity Regime will be enhanced to:
- introduce greater flexibility in debarment decisions (rendering companies ineligible from receiving federal contracts or real property agreements)
- increase the number of triggers that can lead to debarment
- explore alternative measures to further mitigate the risk of doing business with organized crime
- expand the scope of business ethics covered under the regime into key areas such as combatting human trafficking and the protection of labour rights and the environment
Effectively addressing corporate wrongdoing protects the integrity of markets, addresses barriers to economic growth and promotes fair competition to ensure job creation for Canadians. The introduction of enhancements to the Integrity Regime and the creation of a Remediation Agreement Regime adds new incentives for corporations to self-report and encourages stronger corporate compliance in a continually evolving marketplace. The enhanced Integrity Regime will be reflected in a revised Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, which will be released on November 15, 2018, and will come into effect on January 1, 2019. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Remediation Agreement Regime will come into effect 90 days after the Budget Implementation Act receives Royal Assent.
Quick facts
- The Government of Canada spends approximately $20 billion per year on procurement contracts, real property agreements, the management of Crown-owned properties and rental payments on 1,690 lease contracts across Canada.
- The government-wide Integrity Regime is designed to ensure that the government conducts business with ethical suppliers, promotes further efforts to put in place strong compliance frameworks, and holds suppliers accountable for misconduct.
- The United States and the United Kingdom have DPA regimes in place. In 2017, the Minister of Justice of Australia introduced legislation to establish a federal DPA regime.
Related products
- Backgrounder: Remediation agreement regime
- Backgrounder: Enhancing Canada's Integrity Regime
- What We Heard Report
- Deferred Prosecution Agreement Discussion Paper
- Integrity Regime Discussion Paper
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SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada
Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, [email protected]
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