Government of Canada – Integrity Regime

The Government of Canada has announced it will further strengthen its approach to addressing corporate wrongdoing by enhancing the government-wide Integrity Regime and introducing legislative amendments to create a made-in-Canada version of a deferred prosecution agreement regime, to be known as a remediation agreement regime.

A news release published today highlights upcoming enhancements to the Integrity Regime which include:

• Introducing greater flexibility in debarment decisions depending on a variety of mitigating and aggravating factors;
• Increasing the number of triggers for possible debarment going beyond criminal convictions, preventing unethical suppliers from participating in federal procurement and making the Integrity Regime more robust;
• Exploring alternative measures to further mitigate the risk of doing business with organized crime; and
• Expanding the scope of business ethics to encourage corporate social responsibility, and to support the Government’s actions in key areas such as combatting human trafficking and the protection of labour rights and the environment.

The enhanced Integrity Regime will be implemented through a revised Ineligibility and Suspension Policy that will be released on November 15, 2018 and effective January 1, 2019. Prior to its release, the government will consult publicly on the administration of the enhanced Integrity Regime with the objective of ensuring efficiency and effectiveness.

The Government of Canada is committed to engaging with stakeholders to ensure that they understand enhancements that are being made to the Integrity Regime. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Lynne Tomson, Director General, Integrity and Forensic Accounting Management Group, Public Services and Procurement Canada.