The federal government is being applauded for taking steps to combat extortion crimes.

Political leaders in Brampton say the measures introduced by Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne strengthen protections for Canadians and businesses facing organized criminal activity.

Brampton has aggressively been pushing back against the crimes and has continuously appealed to the Government of Canada for help, and recently passed a motion calling for emergency measures to address extortion and organized crime.

“The new federal measures sharpen detection, disruption and prevention efforts through enhanced financial intelligence and deeper collaboration between governments, police services and financial institutions,” reads a statement from the city.

The measures announced by the Government of Canada include:

​Prioritizing financial intelligence resources to tackle extortion, enabling law enforcement to receive more timely and relevant intelligence to identify criminal networks and support investigations.
Launching a Countering Extortion Partnership with financial institutions, government, and law enforcement alongside partners such as the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and local police.
Assigning financial intelligence experts from FINTRAC as dedicated liaison officers to work directly with local law enforcement in the most affected areas, including Ontario.
Providing financial institutions with clear guidance on how to detect extortion transactions
Publishing intelligence on how criminals move and hide extortion money

Mayor Patrick Brown said Champagne’s announcement responds with urgency by partnering with Peel Regional Police, dedicating financial intelligence experts to support local investigations, and expanding FINTRAC resources to disrupt criminal networks.

Brown has also urged federal and provincial leaders to provide dedicated task force funding for Peel Region comparable to support in British Columbia, targeted victim support investments, including culturally informed services and formal intelligence sharing frameworks across federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and Peel Regional Police.

Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Wards 9 & 10 Harkirat Singh, added that stronger financial intelligence and deeper collaboration between governments, financial institutions and law enforcement will lead to real results.

 


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