Ottawa introduces Bill S-8 targeting financial crime and illicit mail
The proposed federal bill would tighten money-services registration, restrict large cash transactions and allow lawful mail searches under existing criminal statutes.
The federal government introduced Bill S-8 on November 3, proposing new rules for money-services businesses, crypto ATMs, large cash transactions and law-enforcement searches of mail.
If passed and brought into force, the Combatting Financial Crimes and Drug Trafficking Act would strengthen registration checks for money-services businesses and expand FINTRAC’s power to refuse or revoke registrations. It would also target unlawful crypto ATMs and restrict cash transactions of $10,000 or more and certain third-party cash deposits.
The bill would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act so police with lawful authority under the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or the Cannabis Act could search and seize mail. The government says the proposal would not allow postal inspectors to open letters.
Other proposed measures would let regulated businesses receive and use information disclosed by law enforcement for anti-money-laundering work. Bill S-8 is proposed legislation and may change during parliamentary review; none of these provisions should be treated as law yet.
Source: Department of Finance Canada, news release (November 3, 2026).
Illustrative stock photo: Anastassia Anufrieva / Unsplash (Unsplash Licence). The image does not show a Bill S-8 investigation. Cropped/resized by WordPress.
AI-assisted news brief. Sources are linked above.
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