The United Nations Convention against Corruption provides, in article 54, an obligation on states to assist. But the obligation is to assist in compliance with your domestic laws. The domestic law that allows us to implement the obligation under the United Nations Convention against Corruption is the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. This was described in some detail by Minister Nicholson in his opening remarks about the requirements to restrain. This also requires that charges have been laid in the foreign state and that we have a restraint order we can file with the Canadian court to have the order enforced.
Similarly, section 354 of the Criminal Code, which establishes the offence of possession of the proceeds of crime, allows for restraint to be taken under part XII.2 of the Criminal Code. But there needs to be evidence of criminality, identification of assets. Minister Nicholson ran through the pre-conditions of the code requirements that would govern restraint, and this evidence is necessary in order for our domestic legal mechanisms to take effect, whether they be pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act or the Criminal Code regime. We require the evidence of criminality to be produced before the court.