Deferred prosecution agreements consultation: Expanding Canada's toolkit to address corporate wrongdoing

The Government of Canada invites you to comment on a discussion guide to help inform a possible Canadian deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) regime.

This consultation takes place between September 25 and November 17, 2017 (11:59 pm Pacific time).

Purpose of this consultation

This consultation is an opportunity to consider the possibility of introducing a Canadian DPA regime as an additional tool for prosecutors, to be used in appropriate circumstances, to address corporate crime. Under a DPA, criminal prosecution is suspended on the accused agreeing to fulfill certain requirements including admitting to facts that would support a conviction, paying a significant financial penalty and cooperating with authorities, on completion of which, charges will be withdrawn.

DPAs are intended to ensure that corporate criminal conduct is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties and to assist in meeting other objectives, including increasing detection and improving compliance and corporate culture. At the same time, a DPA regime may also help to mitigate unintended consequences associated with a criminal conviction for blameless employees, customers, pensioners, suppliers and investors. Additionally, in some cases, a criminal conviction could lead to job losses and wider negative implications to the economy.

Consulting stakeholders

The Government of Canada is looking for feedback from Canadians and all interested parties, including, but not limited to:

  • industry associations
  • current and potential suppliers to the Government of Canada
  • professional organizations
  • civil society organizations
  • non-governmental organizations
  • justice sector stakeholders
  • provinces and territories

How to participate

A discussion guide has been prepared for interested parties to review and comment on. The Government of Canada is seeking stakeholder views to inform considerations and options for a possible Canadian DPA regime.

To participate in this consultation:

  1. review the discussion guide:
  2. provide feedback in any of the following ways:

Privacy

Protection of your privacy is important to us, the personal information on this consultation is collected on a voluntary basis. All personal identifiers are anonymized.

Contact us

Organization:
Government of Canada
Address:
Portage III Tower A 10A1
11 Laurier St
Gatineau QC  K1A 9S5
Email:
tpsgc.dgsiggjapdconsulter-dobifamgdpaconsult.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Date modified: