On October 31, 2017, the facilitation payments exception was officially removed from Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA). The CFPOA was originally passed in 1998 to address the issue of corruption (including bribery of foreign public officials), but did not prevent the use of facilitation payments. While the exception was originally repealed by Bill S-14 when it received Royal Assent on June 19, 2013, the exception's removal did not go into force until October 31, 2017. The facilitation payments exception had allowed for paying foreign government officials to help facilitate certain transactions (such as the issuance of licenses, visas, work permits and other documents) or providing services (such as police protection, inspections related to contract performance or other services). The exception's repeal makes such payments by a Canadian individual or company illegal, regardless of where they take place. For more information, see http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/topics-domaines/other-autre/corruption_questions-answers-reponses.aspx?lang=eng.
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