Letter from the Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs to the Director and Chief Executive Officer of FINTRAC

March 4, 2025

Ms. Sarah Paquet
Director and Chief Executive Officer
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
24th floor, 234 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1H7

Dear Ms. Paquet:

The international and domestic illegal drug trade and drug trafficking is threating the safety of Canadians and the security of our country. Organized crime groups and cartels are leveraging the illicit drug market to fuel their criminal enterprises, devasting Canadian families and communities. FINTRAC must be on the front lines in the fight against organized crime given the importance of timely and high-quality financial intelligence.

The Prime Ministerial Directive on Transnational Crime and Border Security directs my Cabinet colleagues to ensure that federal law enforcement and security agencies, including FINTRAC, establish a joint operational intelligence cell to facilitate the expedient and effective flow of intelligence for use by law enforcement operations in Canada and abroad. This is to be done with a particular focus on transnational organized crime, the trafficking of illicit drugs, especially fentanyl, and the importation of precursor chemicals to North America.

Against this backdrop, I am directing you to mobilize resources in a way that responds to the urgency of the matters currently before us. Combatting the illicit financing that enables the fentanyl trade must be your immediate priority and focus, and I expect you to bring the full force of your agency to bear on tackling this critical issue. You must ensure that the Centre takes immediate action and uses all available tools to support the eradication of cartel activity in Canada, other criminal syndicates and the trafficking of illicit drugs including fentanyl. I expect FINTRAC to work in lockstep with Canada’s Fentanyl Czar, provinces, territories, police of jurisdiction and international partners. FINTRAC must accelerate efforts to break down silos and establish tailored mechanisms to ensure cooperation between those who produce and action intelligence. I expect information to be shared quickly, and in an actionable form, with the relevant law enforcement bodies so that they can direct their efforts to aggressively pursue those individuals and groups who are profiting from the scourge of fentanyl.

FINTRAC must be a leader in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and remain at the forefront of Canada’s efforts to protect the safety and security of Canadians and the integrity of the financial system. I expect the Centre will play an active and central role in combatting these urgent threats and report back to me on the steps you have taken and progress on these objectives by March 31, 2025.

Sincerely,
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P.
Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs

cc: Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s Fentanyl Czar