Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act is administered by the Canada Border Services Agency, CBSA. It requires persons or entities to report to customs authorities, during importation or exportation, currency of a monetary value of $10,000 or more.
The CBSA border agents have the ability to conduct searches when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person or entity is carrying unreported currency or when they suspect that there are proceeds of crime or funds for terrorism financing. Those funds may be seized or forfeited by customs authorities.
Clause 174 of Bill C-86 essentially repeals a section in the act that gives persons and entities the ability to withdraw that export or import of the currency. Essentially, under the Customs Act, the right to withdraw does not exist for the declaration of goods, so this provision aligns it with the Customs Act.