International Anti-Corruption Legislative Amendments in Canada

The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which came into force on February 15, 1999, takes a supply-side approach to combating corruption.  The Convention calls on each signatory state to enact its own conforming domestic legislation, and to ensure enforcement in accordance with the legal custom of that country, the effectiveness of which is monitored by the OECD Working Group on Bribery (WGB). Canada’s legislative response to implement this Convention was the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA).  The CFPOA is criminal law legislation that applies to all of Canada, which has come under considerable criticism for its lack of compliance with the OECD convention.