Financial intelligence watchdog plagued by delays, auditor general finds

OTTAWA — The auditor general says Canada’s financial intelligence watchdog is moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to providing law enforcement with information to support criminal investigations.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre plays a key role in Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.

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But a new audit released today says it takes the agency an average of about four months to pass on intelligence to law enforcement — and that half the time, the information arrives too late to be useful to investigations.

That’s just one of several damning conclusions in nine federal audits the office of Auditor General Karen Hogan tabled in Parliament today.

Another report reveals Environment Canada stopped its work in 2024 on banning thermal coal exports — and didn’t bother to tell the public, even though Canada’s commitment to banning thermal coal exports by 2030 remained firmly in place.

Another audit says Health Canada went more than a billion dollars over budget on implementing the new Canadian Dental Plan in the first two years of the program, and struggled to track whether it was improving oral health.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press