C-29 An Act to Establish the Financial Crimes Agency and Make Consequential Amendments to Certain Acts and Regulations

Short Title:  Financial Crimes Agency Act

Bill Type:  House Government Bill

Bill Sponsor:  Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne

Status: At consideration in committee in the House of Commons

Latest activity:  Second-Reading and referral to committee on Thursday, June 18, 2026 (House of Commons)

Estimated Read Time:  5 minutes

What is this Bill For?

Bill C‑29, Financial Crimes Agency Act creates a new specialized Federal Law Enforcement Agency to investigate serious and complex financial crimes and help recover proceeds of crime. The Agency can investigate financial crimes involving financial assets, including digital assets, financial services and markets.

The Bill gives the Agency its own Commissioner, investigation officers and Police Officers. Designated Police Officers become Peace Officers throughout Canada. It also creates information-sharing powers and connects the Agency with existing Federal Laws dealing with financial crime, sanctions, immigration information and National Security. 

The Federal Attorney General can prosecute financial crimes investigated by the Agency and can issue a fiat giving the Federal Attorney General exclusive authority over a prosecution that otherwise could be handled by a Province. The Bill says factors can include whether the crime crosses Provincial or international boundaries and whether the National Interest is involved.

WHO GAINS POWER

• A BRAND NEW Federal Law Enforcement Agency — the Financial Crimes Agency — is created, with its own Commissioner, Police Officers and investigation powers
• The Commissioner has full control over hiring, firing, pay, classification and staffing — operating outside the normal public service rules
• The Attorney General of Canada can issue a fiat to take exclusive control of prosecutions away from Provincial Attorneys General in financial crime cases
• The Commissioner can designate employees as Police Officers with full Peace Officer powers anywhere in Canada
• The Agency can share information with CSIS, the RCMP, foreign Law Enforcement and a wide range of Federal Departments and Regulators
• The Minister of Finance can direct the Commissioner on public policy and strategic direction

WHO LOSES POWER

• Provincial Attorneys General — the Federal Attorney General can override their prosecutorial authority in financial crime cases with a fiat
• The Treasury Board — some normal Federal HR authorities do not apply to the Agency, giving the Commissioner direct control over staffing and human resources. 
  Two Financial Administration Act provisions are expressly excluded, but Treasury Board is not removed altogether. Pay requires consultation with the Treasury Board President and the Agency's collective-bargaining mandate requires Treasury Board President approval.
• Provinces — Agency Police Officers have Peace Officer powers throughout Canada and the Federal Attorney General can take exclusive control of specified financial crime prosecutions by fiat. 

WHO GAINS MONEY

• The Agency itself — it receives public funding as a new Federal institution and can acquire real property for investigations outside normal Federal real property rules
• Employees designated as Police Officers — subject to separate pay and classification outside standard public service scales

WHO LOSES MONEY

• Canadian taxpayers — funding an entirely new Federal Law Enforcement Agency with its own Commissioner, staff, offices and operational Budget
• Those convicted of financial crimes — the Agency's mandate includes recovery of proceeds of crime

THE CATCH

• ⚠️ The Minister of Finance can direct the Commissioner — directions on "public policy or strategic direction" are not statutory instruments, meaning they are not subject to the same Parliamentary scrutiny as Regulations, though they must be made public
• ⚠️ The complaints review body for Agency Police Officers is created by Regulation — not written into the Bill itself, meaning Government controls how misconduct oversight is structured and can change it without Parliament
• ⚠️ The Attorney General of Canada can strip Provinces of prosecutorial authority by issuing a fiat — with broad criteria including simply that "the National Interest is involved"
• ⚠️ The Agency operates outside standard public service HR rules — the Commissioner sets their own pay, classification and staffing standards with minimal external oversight
• The Agency can access biometric data collected under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for its investigations