Advocates are praising the multi-party effort to crack down on the use of shell companies for money laundering and terrorist financing, and saying Canada could go from a laggard to a leader if the federal government can convince the provinces and territories to get on board. Bill C-42, the federal government’s bill to set up a beneficial ownership registry for federally registered corporations, received royal assent on Nov.
2 after receiving unanimous support in the House of Commons and in the Senate. Sasha Caldera, campaign manager at Publish What You Pay Canada, told The Hill Times on Nov. 13 that this is a major milestone that he and other advocates have been working towards for six years. He said Canada took “a wait-and-see approach” as other countries, including the United Kingdom and France, established similar registries beginning in 2018. Sasha Caldera from the advocacy group Publish What You Pay Canada says the federal registry is a major milestone that comes after years of wor