FINTRAC Sharing with Minister of Finance

Summary#

This Order (Registration SI/2025-3) brings section 192 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1 into force on the day the Order is made. The Order-in-Council is dated December 16, 2024 and was published in the Canada Gazette on January 1, 2025. Its practical effect is to allow a new channel for financial intelligence to flow from FINTRAC to the Minister of Finance or a Department of Finance officer for certain oversight and national security decisions.

What it does#

• Brings into force an amendment to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorism Financing Act (the PCMLTFA).
• The amendment (recorded as section 53.32 of the PCMLTFA) lets the Director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) disclose FINTRAC information to the Minister of Finance, or an officer of the Department of Finance, when requested.
• The disclosure can be used for:
  • deciding whether to grant, revoke, suspend or change an “approval” for a federally regulated financial institution (FRFI), and
  • exercising the Minister’s authorities under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) to address national security risks tied to retail payment service providers.
• Both the Minister (or Department officer) and the FINTRAC Director keep discretion: the Minister decides whether to request information, and the FINTRAC Director decides whether to respond.
• The Order follows work on privacy and record-keeping and the Government’s earlier announcement in Budget 2023; the underlying legislative text received royal assent on June 22, 2023.

Who's affected#

• Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) — will have a clear statutory route to share intelligence with finance officials.
• Minister of Finance and officers in the Department of Finance — can request and use FINTRAC information for oversight and national security actions.
• Federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) — their approvals, mergers or significant ownership matters could be informed by FINTRAC intelligence.
• Retail payment service providers covered by the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) — may be subject to actions informed by FINTRAC intelligence when national security risks are at issue.
• The wider public and customers are not directly named, but could be affected indirectly through regulatory or security actions. If it is unclear who else might be affected, that is because the Order is narrowly focused on information sharing between FINTRAC and finance officials.

Why it matters#

• This change makes it easier for finance officials to get FINTRAC intelligence when they consider approvals or national security risks. That can speed or strengthen decisions about banks, insurers, trusts and some payment service providers.
• The sharing is targeted and discretionary, not an automatic or broad release of FINTRAC data.
• There are privacy and record-keeping implications because FINTRAC handles sensitive financial intelligence; the government says work was done to address those concerns before bringing the provision into force.