QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Money Laundering
October 6, 2026
Senator Moreau, in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that key provisions in the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, or PCMLTFA, could not be constitutionally applied to lawyers, leaving provincial law societies to police their professions. Since then, financing and leasing entities, title insurers, private bank machine operators and others must now report to FINTRAC. Lawyers who handle trust accounts, real estate closings and corporate structures still file no suspicious transaction reports.
The Financial Action Task Force report released last week called out this significant gap and noted that law societies had not assessed their sector’s risks, yet other jurisdictions managed this risk while respecting solicitor-client privilege.
Will the government commit to ensuring that lawyers face stringent reporting and oversight as expected of existing PCMLTFA reporting entities?
I will take your question under advisement and bring it to the Minister of Justice. I don’t know if he has committed himself to intervene with bar associations or with lawyers’ associations, but I will get back to you with an answer.
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
Can you also ask him to provide the rationale as to why the federal government would not require the legal profession to provide evidence that their self-policing is rigorous and has teeth? Additionally, why would the federal government not expect transparent reporting, such as how many lawyers the Law Society has investigated, disciplined or referred to police for money-laundering-related conduct last year?
I don’t want to commit myself too far — I’m a member of the Barreau du Québec and the Quebec bar — but my understanding is that all authority belongs to our associations and to the provinces. I’m not sure that it’s possible for the federal government to intervene in these matters, but perhaps I’m talking over my head here, and I don’t want to make that a habit, so I’ll get back to you with a more precise answer.
