OECD Says Canada Should Boost Efforts to Prosecute Foreign Bribery Offenses
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Group on Bribery has issued a report stating that although Canada has recently made progress in investigating the bribery of foreign public officials by Canadian businesses, its legislative and institutional framework for enforcing the "Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions" remains problematic.
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Enforcement has Increased with 20 Active Cases, but Funding Needed for Success
According to the report, Canada’s anti-bribery enforcement efforts since 2004 include one conviction in 2005, one ongoing prosecution, and over 20 active investigations. This activity can be largely attributed to the diligent efforts of the new Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Anti-Corruption Unit that was established in 2008.
However, the Working Group states that the future of these cases and enforcement more generally of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) will be in jeopardy unless the Public Prosecution Service of Canada is given the resources it needs to prosecute the large volume of cases that may soon follow the investigations.
OECD also Recommends Amending CFPOA, Ensuring Sanctions are Effective, Etc.
The report also suggests that Canada adopt other recommendations, including:
- Amending the CFPOA so that it is clear that it applies to bribery related to the conduct of all international business, not just business ‘for profit’;
- Ensuring that sanctions applied in practice for CFPOA violations are effective, proportionate and dissuasive;
- Taking such measures as may be necessary to prosecute Canadian nationals for bribery of foreign public officials committed abroad; and
- Clarifying that police and prosecutors may not consider factors such as the national economic interest and relations with a foreign State, when deciding whether to investigate or prosecute allegations of foreign bribery.
Canada Commended for Codifying Corporate Liability in Criminal Code
The Working Group also commended Canada for codifying corporate liability in the Criminal Code for CFPOA and other offenses, as well as initiatives for increasing reporting of foreign bribery in the public and private sectors, including enacting a Criminal Code offense of threatening or retaliating against employees who report misconduct.
Canada Asked to Report Back on its Progress to OECD in Oct 2011
Due to the significance of the issues raised in this report, the Working Group recommends that Canada report back on its progress in October 2011. Following the usual process, Canada will also make an oral report within one year and a further written report within two years, which will be made publicly available.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/14/09 news, 09121425, for BP summary of the U.S. and 37 countries agreeing to take new steps to combat bribery.)
The OECD report is available here.