QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
November 3, 2026
Government leader, I was pleased to be the government sponsor in the Senate for Canada’s beneficial ownership registry bill when it passed in 2023. However, for FINTRAC reporting entities to fulfill their obligations under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, the registry needs to collect correct information regarding the beneficial owners of federal corporations.
Since there are discrepancy reporting measures in the registry itself, will the government introduce an audit regime combining risk-based reviews and random sampling to independently verify the correctness and completeness of reported ownership and control information, supported by documentary evidence?
Thank you for the question, senator.
I don’t know if the bill that I tabled today, Bill S-8, will answer all of those questions. We will have the opportunity to study the bill later during this session. I will take into consideration all the aspects of your question, as well as whether Bill S-8 addresses those questions. If not, I will bring to the attention of the minister the suggestion supported by your question.
Thank you. The bill that you introduced today sounds very promising. I look forward to reading it in more detail.
The beneficial ownership registry is currently searchable by the name of the corporation itself. However, you cannot search by the name of what they call the ISC, the individual with significant control — in other words, the real owner — and get a list of entities associated with the ISC. Will the government commit to improving search by name?
I will have to look into Bill S-8 myself to see if it answers that very technical question. I’m sure this is the kind of question that might be asked during the study of Bill S-8, and if there are any amendments brought to the bill, I will see whether or not it is appropriate to do so. I will take into consideration the very important question that you raise today.
