How the New Government Bill on Border Security Could Impact Cash Transfers

News Analysis

The Liberal government’s newly introduced legislation around strengthening border security contains a provision that would have wide implications for those looking to transfer large sums of money.

The Strong Borders Act, Bill C-2, proposes making it a criminal offence for “certain entities” to accept cash donations, deposits, or payments of $10,000 or more. The legislation would do this to strengthen the abilities of law enforcement to combat money laundering.

Those who are convicted of this would be liable to receive a fine of up to three times the amount transferred, but not jail time.

The legislation would also give border officials the power to cancel asylum applications, give law enforcement expanded powers to search mail and access private communications, simplify the application process for asylum-seekers, and give the Canadian Coast Guard additional powers to conduct security patrols and share information.

When the legislation was introduced on June 3, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that the federal government was “stepping up in the fight against transnational financial crime” and that the bill would “strengthen supervision and enforcement to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.”

Various measures in the legislation have raised concerns from civil liberties groups, with one saying the restrictions around cash transfers would endanger Canadians’ privacy and put restrictions on their usage of cash.

According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), Bill C-2 would apply the restrictions on cash transfers to businesses, professionals, and charities, and the $10,000 payment would be a crime even if it were broken down into several smaller cash transactions. The organization said this rule is a “dangerous step towards tyranny and totalitarianism.”

Bill C-2 builds off of a $1.3 billion border security plan that Canada introduced in December 2024, which included the creation of a new North American task force targeting organized crime and synthetic drug trafficking, as well as 24/7 border surveillance.

U.S. President Donald Trump had cited border security as a reason for imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Bill C-2 is an attempt to further address those concerns.

The bill proposes changes to more than a dozen pieces of legislation, such as the Criminal Code, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the bill contains elements that would strengthen the relationship between Canada and the United States and address some issues that have been irritants for the United States.

Cash Transfer Scrutiny

The aspect of the legislation related to cash transfers received less attention than other aspects, but it was still highlighted by the JCCF as a threat to Canadians’ freedom to choose to pay with cash. The legal advocacy group said that while few Canadians use cash transactions of $10,000, the legislation would open up the option for the government to reduce the legal amounts even lower, to “eventually nothing.”

“If we cherish our privacy, we need to defend our freedom to choose cash, in the amount of our choosing,” the JCCF said.

The JCCF added that this aspect of Bill C-2 is similar to Quebec’s Bill 54, adopted in March 2024, which aims to reduce processing times in criminal and penal matters and make the administering of justice more efficient.

That legislation states that sums of cash are presumed to be “proceeds of unlawful activity” if they are found near prohibited substances or equipment used to traffic in or produce those substances, or if they are valued at $2,000 or more and is handled in a way that is “incompatible with the practices of financial institutions.”

The JCCF said law enforcement already has the necessary tools in place to fight crime and should use them more effectively or hire more officers instead of “violating our right to use cash.”

Charter, Privacy Concerns With Bill

Anandasangaree was asked at a press conference whether he was concerned the bill would encroach on civil liberties. The minister replied saying that he had spent his “entire life in the protection of human rights and civil liberties” and that he had ensured the bill includes safeguards for Charter rights. 

Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, said “Bill C-2 overreaches by including measures on internet subscriber data that have nothing to do with border safety or security” but raise concerns about privacy and civil liberties.

According to Ottawa’s June 3 news release, the legislation allows law enforcement to have easier access to “basic information and data,” amends the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act to “ensure CSIS’s investigative tools also keep pace,” and requires electronic service providers to support law enforcement agencies and CSIS by complying with legally authorized requests for information.

Conservative MP and Shadow Public Safety Minister Frank Caputo criticized the legislation for not addressing issues like bail, fentanyl trafficking, and firearms offences. Speaking in the House of Commons on June 5, he also said the bill does not contain a ​​Charter statement and criticized it for allowing Canada Post employees and police to open private mail during inspections and investigations.

Anandasangaree responded that the bill would keep Canada’s borders secure, stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration, and “bolster our response to increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.” He added that the Charter was a “foundational piece of the work that we do.”

Bill C-2 went through first reading in the House of Commons on June 3 and is currently going through second reading to allow the parties to explain their stances. It will then be referred to committee for review.