Champagne to announce anti-extortion partnership in Mississauga

Ottawa will unveil a "follow-the-money" anti-extortion partnership in Mississauga; officials say it will use existing funds, with FinTRAC reallocating resources and issuing a Targeted Indicator Profile to help institutions spot extortion patterns.

Ottawa will announce a "follow-the-money" strategy to target economic crime in a Mississauga news conference on Thursday. The initiative is described as a Countering Extortion Partnership that will bring together financial institutions, government and police to boost information sharing. A senior federal official said the plan does not include new money and that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FinTRAC) will shift resources to focus on tracking extortion. FinTRAC is also expected to issue a Targeted Indicator Profile to help financial institutions recognise patterns linked to extortion. Key details: - The partnership is presented as an information-sharing effort among banks, law enforcement and government to prevent and investigate extortion. - Officials said the measures will rely on existing funding; FinTRAC will reallocate staff and publish a Targeted Indicator Profile to improve detection of extortion-related financial patterns. - A Mississauga news conference will include Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, FinTRAC CEO Sarah Paquet and Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish; the government has also referenced plans to establish a Financial Crimes Agency, with related legislation expected in the spring. Summary: The announced partnership aims to strengthen coordination and financial tracking to address extortion while relying on reallocated existing resources. Officials will provide details at the Mississauga news conference, and separate legislation to create a Financial Crimes Agency is expected in the spring.