Anti-Corruption Law Program

Keynote Speech from Simon Fraser University Professor of Public Policy, Maureen Maloney

Discussions include:

• Lessons on addressing money laundering
• Avoiding corruption in high risk markets
• Transparency in mining licences
• Part of the Anti-Corruption Law Program in conjunction with UBC and ICCLR

Download the poster and agenda.

The Metro Vancouver housing market is in the midst of an undeniable downturn. New regulatory measures including the BC Foreign Buyers Tax and the Speculation and Vacancy Tax have proven effective in curbing foreign investment appetite. Despite these successes, recent revelations on the pervasiveness of financial crime and money laundering in Vancouver’s real estate market has placed increased scrutiny on the region’s housing affordability crisis. In light of this changing landscape, governments at all levels are expected to take urgent action, especially following commitments made during the 2019 federal election campaign. This Transparency International Canada Vancouver Discussion Group seminar will discuss the downstream impact of emerging government interventions in the real estate market that have resulted from allegations of real estate-related money laundering.

The Anti-Corruption Law Program is a joint program under a collaborative working partnership of the Peter A. Allard School of Law, the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, and Transparency International Canada.

Leading the seminar discussion will be a panel of experts consisting of:

• Ryan Lang, Director, Deloitte LLP
• Michael Noseworthy, Superintendent of Real Estate, Government of BC
• Tsur Somerville, Associate Professor, UBC Sauder School of Business
• Sean Boyle (Moderator), Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

There is no cost to this event, though attendees are encouraged to donate to TI Canada, a registered charitable organization.
We greatly appreciate Blakes’ generous donation of both the meeting space and a light breakfast.
For more information, download the poster.

This seminar featured a discussion of the World Bank’s approach to combating and preventing corruption in international development projects, from the perspective of the top official of the World Bank with responsibility in this area – Ms. Pascale Helene Dubois, Vice President, Integrity.

Ms. Dubois described the World Bank’s rationale for prioritizing the application of anti-corruption measures in its operations to stamp out corruption related to its loan portfolio, and explained the World Bank’s multi-pronged approach to anti-corruption. She discussed the role of the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) at the World Bank and how it supports integrity, acting as the investigative arm of the World Bank by monitoring contracts, financed operations (including trust funds), vendors, and World Bank staff. INT can seek World Bank sanctions against a violator, including suspension or debarment from World Bank projects. World Bank sanctions can also be applied by other International Financial Institutions (IFIs) as a result of a “cross-debarment” agreement among five IFIs.

The Dirty Money report of March 2018 which was published after an Independent Review conducted by Dr. Peter German, focussed on the laundering of cash in casinos. In Dirty Money - Part 2, Dr. German provides many more examples of dirty cash moving into the mainstream financial system. 

The Findings in Dirty Money - Part 2 point to the need for reforms in property registration practices that will require the identification of beneficial owners, changes to reporting obligations for lawyers and notaries involved in real estate transactions, enhanced law enforcement measures including consideration of the use of special prosecutors to guide complex financial crime files (as is currently used in political corruption cases), as well as the creation of an inclusive provincial anti-corruption agency of preventative, investigative and prosecutorial resources along the lines of the Unité Permanente Anti-Corruption in Quebec. 

A panel of experts consisting of Dr. German, President of ICCLR, Darlene Hyde, CEO of the BC Real Estate Association and Peter Dent, Partner and BC Region Director of Operations for Financial Advisory, Deloitte Canada. discussed the findings of the Dirty Money - Part 2 report as well another report released in May 2019 from a panel chaired by Professor Maureen Maloney entitled Combatting Money Laundering in BC Real Estate. The latter report made 29 recommendations for provincial regulatory improvements with respect to compliance and enforcement of existing laws, consumer protection, financial services regulations, regulation of real estate professionals, and jurisdictional gaps between B.C. and the federal government.

The panel of experts explored the current state of integrity management in public procurement in Canada, with a particular focus on the measures being implemented by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) under the federal government’s Integrity Regime, as well as the proposed amendments to the Integrity Regime currently being considered by the Government of Canada. The panel also reviewed the Remediation Agreement (DPA’s in Canada are referred to as Remediation Agreements) Regime that came into effect in September 2018.The panel included leading anti-corruption law practitioners, investigators and forensic consultants, including Milos Barutciski. Partner at Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) in Toronto, Kevin Duggan, Sergeant RCMP “E” division, (Surrey) and Hitesh Patel, Partner KPMG (Toronto).

The Honorable David Eby, QC., Attorney General of British Columbia, gave a keynote presentation on the current status of addressing the "Vancouver Model" of money laundering, and provided broader insights on addressing corruption and promoting transparency in British Columbia. 

A panel discussion on the topic of “Fighting Money Laundering After the ‘Vancouver Model’” was held. The panel consisted of Kathy Tomlinson, Investigative Reporter, The Globe and Mail (Panel Moderator), Archie Alafriz, Threat Finance Mitigation Specialist, AML/CFT Compliance, Financial Intelligence, Counterproliferation and James Cohen, Executive Director, Transparency International Canada 

A panel discussion about the Transparency International Canada’s Western Canada Corruption Survey was held. The panel consisted of Bob Mackin, Journalist, the Breaker (Panel Moderator), Dr. Michael Zajko,  Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia (Western Canada Public Survey),and Daniela Chimisso Dos Santos, Principal, Invenient Solutions Consulting Ltd. (and author of the Western Canada Extractives Industry Survey)

The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) is a global business network working towards the vision of a maritime industry free of corruption that enables fair trade to the benefit of society at large. Established in 2011 by a small group of committed maritime companies, MACN has grown to include nearly 100 members globally, and has become one of the pre-eminent examples of sectoral-level collective action to tackle corruption.


MACN and its members work towards the elimination of all forms of maritime corruption by: (i) raising awareness of the challenges faced; (ii) implementing the MACN Anti-Corruption Principles; (iii) co-developing and sharing best practices; and (iv) collaborating with governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society to identify and mitigate the root causes of corruption, and (v) creating a culture of integrity within the maritime community. The TI Canada Vancouver Discussion Group meeting explored the key ingredients in the evolution of this initiative that have contributed to the success of this sectoral level ‘Collective Action’. Featured Presenter was MACN Vice Chair Paul Townsend, Vice President, Risk Management & Chief Compliance Officer of Teekay Corporation. 

 
On September 28 2017, The Hon. David Eby, QC, Attorney General of BC, appointed Dr. Peter German to conduct an independent review of British Columbia’s anti-money laundering policies and practices in Lower Mainland casinos, including an examination of what connection, if any, the issue has with other areas of B.C.'s economy, as well as to recommend actions to address money-laundering in B.C. On March 31, 2018, Dr. German submitted a 250-page report (entitled ‘Dirty Money’) to the Attorney General. The Report, which was released publicly on June 27, 2018, includes 48 substantive recommendations for changes to the policies and practices in the current legal regime governing the gaming industry in BC. The Government has accepted all of the Report’s recommendations and is moving to implementation.

The seminar discussion was led by the Honourable David Eby, QC, Attorney General of British Columbia, and the author of the Report, Dr. Peter German. The seminar was moderated by Professor Gerry Ferguson, an anti-corruption law expert from the University of Victoria Law School. The discussants provided insights into the findings in the German Report and the next steps to be taken to address illegal money laundering practices in BC.

The seminar featured a live video feed from the panel of international and national experts assembled at the Deloitte offices in Calgary as part of a TI Canada Conference in Calgary.

The Calgary panel included a representative from the World Bank, and a leading Washington, DC based lawyer with experience negotiating and acting as monitor in Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) pursuant to findings of corporate wrongdoing under the FCPA. ​​​​​​

Paul Lalonde, Chair and President of TI Canada, presented the TI Canada Strategic Plan and received feedback from the assembled audience. This was followed by a networking session involving Vancouver Anti-Corruption Professionals.

This session provided an update on the implementation of ESTMA including an overview by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) of its validation and compliance efforts, as well as a discussion of shared lessons learned, key feedback from the extractive industry and other stakeholders to date and next steps to be taken by NRCan in the administration of ESTMA.

This Colloquium format session served as the culminating event of the first year of the Program. The Colloquium, which was hosted by ICCLR, began with a keynote address that was open to the public and the media by a leading expert in the international anti-corruption field. This was followed by a “colloquium”, held at the DLA Piper LLP at which invited participants shared their insights into the future of the ACLP and provided practical advice on useful initiatives that can be launched to support new anti-corruption efforts by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.

This three-hour Seminar provided an opportunity for participants to hear from an expert panel about initial experience with meeting the reporting requirements of ESTMA, which formally began in January 2016. The event focused (inter alia) on the experience to date of Canadian companies in complying with the reporting obligations under the ESTMA, with a particular focus on reporting of payments to governments outside of Canada and to First Nations. The panel was moderated by Joe Ringwald of the mining company ScoZinc. The Panel included representatives of NR Can (Ottawa), Publish What You Pay Canada (Ottawa), Bennett Jones, Deloitte, and Daniela Chimisso dos Santos, formerly of Vale in Brazil.

This roundtable focused on what the major mining companies are looking for in terms of compliance performance when performing due diligence in anticipation of the acquisition of junior or midsize companies. While an expert panel was assembled to lead the discussion, the roundtable format enabled a robust discussion among all participants on these issues, rather than podium presentations followed by Q&A.

This seminar, organized by the Centre for Business Law (Peter A. Allard School of Law), explored recent initiatives in whistleblowing. Particular emphasis was placed on the Ontario Securities Commission’s recently announced whistleblower program, which seeks to encourage the reporting of serious securities-related misconduct. The Panel included representatives from the Ontario Securities Commission, the BC Securities Commission, the law firm of Labaton Sucharow (New York), Blake Cassels & Graydon (Vancouver), and the accounting firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers. 

This three-hour Seminar was organized by the Vancouver Discussion Group of TI Canada, and it provided an opportunity for participants to explore with a knowledgeable panel the potential for corruption in Public-Private Partnership (P3) projects, and discuss practical anti-corruption measures that can help ensure the integrity of this procurement system. To place the discussion in context, other forms of public procurement (especially conventional Design-Bid-Build and Design – Build systems) were discussed. Panel members included representatives from the World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency, Partnerships BC, Ernst & Young, and Singleton Urquhart.

This event, organized by TI Canada, offered a program that reflected experience with the annual TI Canada Day of Dialogue that is held each year in Toronto. The focus of this event was the release by TI Canada of a special report on beneficial ownership of companies in Canada. Panel discussions included examining how anonymous companies can allow criminals to hide illegally obtained wealth in Canada’s legal economy and how to improve anti-corruption law enforcement in Canada. ​​​​​

This event, organized by the Vancouver Discussion Group of TI Canada, examined current trends, best practices, and legal requirements pertaining to corporate anti-corruption compliance systems, including due diligence, training, reporting, and ongoing monitoring obligations. Panel members included representatives from Goldcorp, Siemens, the RCMP, and Deloitte.

This conference was organized by ICCLR and the International Society for the Reform of the Criminal Law. The conference examined a number of topics, including modes of international and local corruption (including in the construction and property development sectors) and money laundering, with a particular focus on activities and effects in Western Canada.

Speakers included Professor Margaret Beare, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; Professor Gerry Ferguson, University of Victoria Faculty of Law; Professor Yvon Dandurand, University of the Fraser Valley; RCMP Inspector Calvin Chrustie; Dr. Peter German, former RCMP Deputy Commissioner for Western Canada; Kevin Gillese, Legal Counsel, BC Ministry of Justice; and Vancouver lawyers Don Sorochan, QC, Maegen Giltrow, and Natalie Baker. 

This early evening seminar, organized by the Vancouver Discussion Group of TI Canada, examined the on-going evolution of Canada’s “Integrity Regime”, which seeks to establish a transparent, open, and ethical process for public procurement by the Government of Canada. Milos Barutciski, a leading legal practitioner in anti-corruption law and corporate compliance at Bennett Jones LLP, was the keynote speaker, and was supported by a well-informed international panel of experts representing the public and private sectors.