4. Key Messages
Part 4 – Division 3 – Subdivision B – Anti-Money Laundering Amendments
- The Government of Canada takes the issue of money laundering and terrorist financing very seriously and is committed to a comprehensive approach to protecting the security of Canadians and the financial system.
- Bill C-47 proposes legislative amendments to the Criminal Code as well as amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Terrorist Financing Act, which are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. Together, these amendments will strengthen the investigative, enforcement, and information sharing tools of Canada’s AML/ATF Regime.
- Bill C-47 would amend the Criminal Code to:
- Create a new special warrant for digital assets that may be confiscated as proceeds of crime, to enable law enforcement to respond to the growing use of digital assets such as cryptocurrency in criminal activity.
- Enable the disclosure of tax information to support a criminal investigation into several additional serious offences that generate significant proceeds of crime.
- The new offences proposed for inclusion are extortion, fraud over $5,000, corruption and foreign bribery offences, human trafficking, possession or laundering of property related to all these offences and related offences of conspiracy, attempt, and accessory after the fact.
- These offences would complement the existing offences for which tax information may be available, which are designated drug offences, possession or laundering of property related to designated drug offences, organized crime offences and terrorism offences.
- These measures address findings of the Cullen Commission by facilitating law enforcement’s efforts to “follow the money” and identify proceeds of crime, and to preserve proceeds of crime for criminal forfeiture.
Part 4 – Division 34 – Criminal Rate of Interest
- Predatory lenders can take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, including low-income Canadians, newcomers, and seniors–often by extending very high interest rate loans. The current criminal rate of interest under section 347 of the Criminal Code of 60 per cent effective annual rate – equivalent to 47 per cent on an annualized percentage rate (APR) basis – can trap those who obtain such loans in a cycle of debt that they cannot afford nor escape.
- These amendments lower the criminal rate of interest to 35% APR. A regulation-making authority is also introduced to allow for certain types of loans, such as commercial loans, to be exempt from the criminal rate of interest.
- Section 347.1 of the Criminal Code provides that payday loans may be exempt from the criminal rate of interest in designated provinces. The proposed amendments introduce a new regulation-making authority to allow a limit to be placed on what payday lenders may charge to borrowers.
- By lowering the criminal rate of interest, those who use high-cost credit products will face lower interest charges.
- These changes would implement one of the Government’s commitments to crack down on predatory lending.
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