Taxman given ability to pass info to police

Suspected crimes could be flagged without a warrant

OTTAWA— The federal revenue agency can now hand the police possible evidence of serious crime, including terrorist activity, that it happens to come across while reviewing taxpayer files. The Canada Revenue Agency gained the little-noticed new authority, which does not require a judicial warrant, through an amendment tucked into the government’s most recent omnibus budget bill.

Previously, confidentiality provisions in the law prevented the agency from handing information about suspected wrongdoing, on its own initiative, to law enforcement. The exception was information that pointed to tax-related crimes.

The new provisions apply to offences that include breaking and entering, vehicle theft, arson, corruption and kidnapping. They also allow authorities to pass along information about any offence with a minimum prison term, or one with a maximum sentence of 14 years.

The list of offences is disturbingly broad and amounts to a fundamental change in allowing the agency to hand information to police without a court-ordered warrant, even when the alleged crimes have nothing to do with taxes, said Toronto lawyer Glen Jennings.

“Where is this need coming from?” said Jennings, who has extensive experience with criminal and regulatory matters. “They still haven’t provided examples of where this has come up before, so it still leaves me scratching my head.”

Officials expect to see “only a few instances annually where the new measures would apply,” says a briefing note prepared for Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay.