Banking, Bankruptcy & Insolvency
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May 15, 2024
FINTRAC: Cryptocurrency ATMs increasingly used for money laundering
Virtual currency automated teller machines (ATMs) are increasingly being used for money laundering, with the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Montreal and Metro Vancouver emerging as hotspots for suspicious transactions, according to Canada’s financial intelligence unit.
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May 14, 2024
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada releases business plan for 2024-25
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has released its business plan for 2024-2025, building on a number of strategic goals and paving the way for the federal government's vision for an open banking system.
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May 10, 2024
Supreme Court of Canada clarifies how to assess compensation for constructive expropriation
The Supreme Court of Canada has explained how to assess compensation payable for constructive expropriation of private land by public authorities in a unanimous decision that reverses a ruling below that pegged what the City of St. John’s owes to a property owner to the land’s prospective market value if it were permitted to be developed for residential use, rather than to its much lower market value as land which is currently zoned “watershed,” with only limited discretionary agriculture, forestry and public utility uses.
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May 10, 2024
FINTRAC imposes $6M administrative monetary penalty on Binance
A $6 million administrative monetary penalty has been imposed on cryptocurrency company Binance Holdings Limited for non-compliance with Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations.
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May 09, 2024
OSC initiative: Early-stage businesses can raise up to $3M without registration as dealer
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has announced a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing access to capital for early-stage businesses in Ontario, including exempting early-stage businesses from being registered as dealers under the Securities Act when raising capital to $3 million.
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May 07, 2024
Sweeping national security bill would boost state investigative powers; expand & create crimes, AMPs
The federal government has introduced a sweeping national security bill that would create a publicly accessible “foreign influence transparency” registry; expand the warrant, production and disclosure powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS); affect criminal accused or judicial review applicants seeking access to relevant “information related to international relations, national defence or national security”; expand the current “sabotage” offence; and create new “foreign interference” offences, along with administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) of up to $5 million and five years in prison, including for knowingly obstructing the operations of the office of a proposed new “Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner.”
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May 06, 2024
Ottawa’s proposed $72M for immigration legal aid in 2024 helps but more funds needed, CBA says
Immigration lawyers say federal Budget 2024’s boost for immigration legal aid is very welcome, but higher funding is necessary if the burgeoning number of refugee claimants are to access justice in Canada. As unveiled on April 16, 2024, by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Budget 2024 proposes $72 million for immigration legal aid in 2024-25, up from $43.5 million per year in Budgets 2023 and 2022.
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May 03, 2024
Court: Payment pact with owner doesn’t override subcontractor lien discharge provisions
The B.C. Court of Appeal has held that a direct payment-forbearance agreement between a landowner and a subcontractor did not preclude the owner from relying on a provision of the Builder’s Liens Act to discharge a lien held by the subcontractor.
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May 02, 2024
New independent watchdog would assess & report how Ottawa carries out its modern treaty obligations
Ottawa says it will create an independent oversight body, led by a new “Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation” who reports to Parliament and whose role will be “to work to hold the Government of Canada accountable for its modern treaty obligations and advance key priorities.”
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April 30, 2024
Ottawa unveils first 2024 budget bill, but doesn’t include boost to capital gains inclusion rate
The minority Liberal government says it hopes to expedite into law a newly proposed 660-page omnibus budget bill, which would enact many measures announced in this month’s federal budget, but not the government’s controversial proposal to tax capital gains at a higher rate.