Hon. Danièle Henkel: Senator Moreau, in 2025, fraudsters stole more than $704 million from Canadians, but only 5% to 10 % of victims reported the fraud. In the U.K., banks are required to reimburse victims, unless the victim is proven to have acted with negligence, of course. As a result, claims have dropped by 15% in just a few months.

In Canada, Bill C-15 requires banks to draw up their own policies. This is clearly insufficient given the scale of the problem. Does the government intend to introduce specific legislation similar to the U.K. law that would require banks to reimburse victims unless there is proven negligence on the part of the consumer?

Hon. Pierre Moreau (Government Representative in the Senate): The government shares your concerns. In fact, I would draw your attention to the announcements made as part of Budget 2025, including the government’s stated intention to create the Canadian Financial Crimes Agency and to develop a national anti-fraud strategy that would bring the entire government together to address this issue in a coordinated manner, not only through the Department of Finance, but also in collaboration with the Department of Justice, to ensure that the law or laws that will be implemented can address this problem and directly target bank fraud.

Senator Henkel: Senator Moreau, we know that, for the most part, every dollar stolen from a Canadian goes towards funding organized crime. In October 2025, the government promised to introduce a bill to create a new financial crime agency by spring 2026. That is now. Can you tell us when this bill will be introduced in Parliament?

Senator Moreau: It may be the spring of 2026, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it out there. Nevertheless, Senator Henkel, I am pleased to inform you that the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice are working well together on this, and I have received confirmation that a bill will indeed be tabled before the end of spring 2026, which we hope will be as long as possible.