Financial intelligence watchdog plagued by delays, auditor general finds

OTTAWA — Canada’s financial intelligence watchdog is moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to providing law enforcement with information to support criminal investigations, a new report by the federal auditor general released Thursday warns.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre plays a key role in Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.

But Auditor General Karen Hogan said it can take the agency months — about four on average — to pass on intelligence to law enforcement, in part due to its IT systems.

Half the time, the information arrives too late to be useful to investigators, according to a survey by Hogan’s office.

Hogan’s audit said FINTRAC “did not effectively carry out its role in overseeing compliance with Canada’s anti-money laundering laws” and that it is constrained in its ability to “help detect, prevent and deter money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities.”

It also said the problems plaguing the agency can hamper the ability of law enforcement to freeze assets, intercept transactions and make arrests to stop money laundering.

In its defence, FINTRAC points to a recent evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force, an international standards body, that praised the Canadian agency for supplying law enforcement with valuable financial intelligence used in most investigations into money laundering.

Hogan’s office tabled nine reports in Parliament on Thursday, many of which flag issues with poor planning and budgeting in various federal departments.

One audit reveals the federal government stopped work years ago on banning thermal coal exports without ever bothering to tell the public or revise its public commitments.

In 2021, Canada committed to banning thermal coal exports by 2030 because of how damaging the resulting pollution is to the environment.

Environment Canada worked for three years to find ways to enforce that ban — until November 2024, when that work ceased altogether following lobbying by the coal industry, the audit said.

Another report examining Health Canada’s implementation of the new Canadian Dental Plan found it went $1.1 billion over budget in the early years of the program.

It said the department has been limited in its efforts to track whether the program was improving oral health.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press