This committee meeting was part of the Industry and Technology committee’s study on financial fraud and scams in Canada. Appearing were Anthony Ostler, President and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA); Hartland Elcock, Assistant General Counsel and Vice-President of the CBA; Eric Smith, Senior Vice-President of the Canadian Telecommunications Association; and Carey Frey, Chief Security Officer of Telus.
Anthony Ostler of the CBA described the formation of the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition, a voluntary cross-sector group that has launched a public awareness campaign and a pilot project for information sharing between banks and telecoms. He noted that Australia has reduced scams by 30% over three years through a government-led, cross-sector approach, while Canada’s reported scam volumes have increased 32% in the same period. He recommended a national anti-fraud strategy with clear roles for sectors, stronger coordination among law enforcement, and support for the new Financial Crimes Agency as a national operational lead. He also supported banning crypto ATMs, which he said are frequently used to launder fraud proceeds.
Eric Smith of the Canadian Telecommunications Association outlined telecoms’ anti-fraud measures, including call blocking and caller ID verification technologies, but stressed that fraud is an ecosystem-wide challenge where telecoms deliver communications without seeing their content. He noted that telecoms are legally restricted from blocking communications without CRTC authority under net neutrality rules. He recommended strengthening cross-sector and international information sharing, expanding public education, and ensuring new anti-fraud measures complement existing regulatory frameworks to avoid duplication.
Carey Frey of Telus described Project Lighthouse, a collaborative investigation that led to the arrest of individuals using an SMS blaster device to commit fraud, which also posed risks to 911 services and critical infrastructure. He argued that Canada needs a central coordinating force led by the federal government, not new laws, to fight fraud effectively. He recommended safe harbour laws to protect good-faith anti-fraud actions, more resources for law enforcement to dismantle fraud rings, and a review of policies like CRTC customer confidentiality rules and device unlocking regulations that he said unintentionally aid fraudsters. He disagreed with the idea that legislative changes alone are the primary solution, emphasizing collaboration instead.
During questions, Ostler and Elcock elaborated that Canada’s anti-money laundering regime is overly compliance-focused, with FINTRAC’s suspicious transaction reports containing 400 fields compared to Australia’s 30 to 50, and that few fraud convictions occur. They said banks work to make victims whole but noted many scams involve victims voluntarily sending money. Frey added that identity authentication standards are not uniform across Canada and that a single accountable body is needed to coordinate anti-fraud efforts, as he can no longer keep up with evolving scams personally. Smith noted that international call routing vulnerabilities persist because not all countries adopt modern telecom security protocols.
The meeting concluded with a procedural exchange. Conservative MP Raquel Dancho moved a motion condemning forced labour in supply chains, rejecting U.S. tariffs, and calling for stronger action on forced-labour imports. After debate, the motion was adopted on a recorded vote.
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