The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology met on June 16, 2026, to continue its study on fraud. Appearing were Mark Hines, Head of Fraud Product at Interac Corp.; Steven Harroun, Vice-President of Compliance and Enforcement, and Scott Hutton, Vice-President of Consumer, Analytics and Strategy, from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC); and Bernard Brun, Vice-President of Government Relations, and Frédéric Lapalme, Senior Director and Deputy Head of the Fraud and Financial Crime Management and Supervision Unit, from Desjardins Group.
Mark Hines of Interac Corp. testified that fraud has evolved from unauthorized account access to scams where the account holder authorizes the payment, shifting the focus to the receiver side of the network. He emphasized that artificial intelligence has dramatically increased the velocity of scam attempts, with investment scams being the most prevalent. Hines stated that the single most effective step Canada can take is enabling better cross-sector data sharing between financial institutions, telecommunications providers, digital platforms, and law enforcement, using targeted, risk-based signals rather than a single open utility. He recommended that every player in the ecosystem should have clearly articulated obligations, with responsibility flowing from meeting those obligations, and noted that safe harbour provisions for intelligence sharing would encourage participation.
Steven Harroun of the CRTC described the commission's civil roles under unsolicited telecommunications rules and Canada's anti-spam legislation, including administering the national do not call list and requiring service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology to combat caller ID spoofing. He noted that the CRTC has approved an AI-based solution that has blocked billions of suspicious calls, and that a new framework allowing telecommunications service providers to block fraudulent emails and SMS text messages will be enhanced by a forthcoming decision. Harroun stressed that collaboration across sectors is key, and that the new Canadian financial crimes agency could bring together telecommunications service providers, banks, and others to combat fraud.
Bernard Brun and Frédéric Lapalme of Desjardins Group outlined five structuring challenges limiting fraud prevention: fragmented data sharing, increasing regulatory compliance frameworks, the transnational nature of criminal operations, consequences for victims, and fraudsters' rapid adaptation using AI. They supported the federal government's national anti-fraud strategy and noted the introduction of Bill C-36, which includes an exception to consent requirements for sharing information to prevent fraud, calling for careful analysis to align with provincial frameworks. Lapalme added that investigations leading to arrests are needed, and that a risk-based approach to regulation is preferable to rigid frameworks. He also supported requiring digital platforms to verify the identities of those purchasing advertisements for financial products, noting that greater anonymity correlates with higher fraud.
During questioning, Hines noted that Interac is investing heavily in building the new real-time rail system with fraud protections built in from day one, and that the company stopped $99.8 million in fraud in 2025. He disagreed with the notion that education alone is sufficient, arguing that responsibility must be shared across all sectors, and that platforms like Meta must be part of the solution by sharing signals when they take down fraudulent content. Lapalme acknowledged that data from the 2019 Desjardins breach continues to circulate on the dark web and is difficult to remove, but that the company monitors for its members and has introduced new protections. Harroun confirmed that the CRTC is about to release a decision enhancing the framework for telcos to block fraudulent text messages.
The committee did not engage in procedural debate, motions, or votes during this meeting.
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