S-8, the proposed Combatting Financial Crimes and Drug Trafficking Act, would amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Canada Post Corporation Act, as well as related privacy rules and regulations. Its stated goal is to combat financial crime and drug trafficking; that goal is not a guaranteed result. No passage or current-status information was supplied, so these changes should be read as proposed, not as provisions in force.
Virtual-currency ATM operators would have to keep transaction records, verify users’ identities, report every transaction to FINTRAC within 15 days, and keep each user’s transactions to no more than $1,000 in any 24-hour period. Some requirements have exceptions set by regulation.
The bill would prohibit specified financial entities from accepting cash deposits into an account from someone who is not the account holder or authorized to give instructions. It would also make accepting cash payments, donations or deposits of $10,000 or more an offence for many businesses, professionals and public fundraising efforts, subject to exceptions.
The Finance Minister would gain powers to review registration applications and registrations, require information or undertakings, impose conditions or orders, and make some directives for national-security or financial-system-integrity reasons. The Minister could also direct limits or bans on transactions involving virtual-currency ATMs.
People and entities subject to certain registration rules would face new reporting requirements and grounds for being denied or losing registration. FINTRAC would have to deny or revoke registration when it has reasonable grounds to believe an application or specified information was false or misleading.
The bill would allow certain personal information to be collected and used without the person’s knowledge or consent for specified anti-money-laundering, anti-terrorist-financing or sanctions-evasion purposes. It would also make items in the course of post subject to demands, seizure, detention or retention under specified criminal and drug laws.
Virtual-currency ATM operators: They would have new record, identity-checking, reporting, machine-information and transaction-limit duties. Knowingly operating an ATM, providing space for one, handling its cash, or making software available for it could also be an offence, with exceptions tied to provincial licences. The bill does not say those licensing exceptions remove the other duties.
Businesses, professionals and public fundraisers: They could not accept a cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more in one transaction or in a prescribed series of related transactions, unless an exception applies. For an offence, the maximum fine on indictment would be three times the amount accepted; the summary-conviction fine is not specified in this text.
Financial entities and other regulated businesses: They may have to provide information to the Minister or designated officials and comply with new ministerial conditions or orders. Some third-party cash deposits would be prohibited. The bill does not itself set out every affected entity’s existing duties.
People whose information is collected: Specified organizations could collect information without consent only after a government or law-enforcement discloser provides a written statement meeting the bill’s conditions. Use is limited to specified purposes, and the information cannot be used to prejudice a criminal investigation.
Postal users: Items in the mail could be demanded, seized, detained or retained under the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or the Cannabis Act. The bill requires written notice to Canada Post within 60 days in most cases and limits liability for the Crown, its servants or agents, and Canada Post.
No cost estimate is included in the supplied material.
The bill would impose new record-keeping, reporting, identity-checking and information-supply duties, but gives no estimate of compliance or government staffing costs.
It sets fines for some offences, including maximum fines of $2.5 million on summary conviction or $5 million on indictment for the new virtual-currency ATM offences, with possible jail terms. These are penalties, not a stated source of expected revenue.
No appropriation, fee change or budget estimate is provided.
The current versions of the amended Acts were not supplied, so the existing law—and how much of the bill’s wording is new—could not be verified. This also limits what can be said about the effects of changing specified thresholds from 20% to 5%.
The bill leaves many exceptions and requirements to regulations, including which circumstances or classes are exempt from cash and ATM rules.
It does not fully set out how the Minister would assess national-security or financial-system-integrity concerns, or what review or appeal options apply to every kind of decision or order.
Some provisions start 90 or 180 days after royal assent, or 18 months after it; other listed provisions require a date set by order. No royal-assent date or order is supplied.
The bill does not give cost, staffing or funding details, or explain how the new rules would interact with all existing programs.
The bill appears intended to make it harder to use cash, virtual-currency ATMs or regulated financial services to move proceeds of crime, finance terrorism or evade sanctions.
Requiring ATM operators to identify users, report every transaction and disclose machine and cash-handling details could give FINTRAC more information to detect suspicious activity.
Giving the Minister tools to impose conditions or orders could allow action where the Minister considers there is a national-security risk or a risk to the financial system’s integrity.
Allowing limited, purpose-bound use of information shared by government or law enforcement could help investigations where seeking consent would compromise detection or deterrence.
The Minister’s new powers reach beyond registration decisions to conditions, orders and transaction directives. Some temporary orders can take effect before an affected person has made representations.
The bill permits personal information to be collected without consent and provides immunity from civil or criminal proceedings for good-faith collection or use. The supplied text does not describe a separate oversight or complaint process for this authority.
The broad duties and offences could create substantial compliance demands for businesses and ATM operators. The bill gives no cost estimate, and many details depend on regulations.
The bill adds a cash-acceptance offence but leaves some exceptions to future regulations; the supplied text does not show exactly which businesses or fundraising activities will be covered.