The Canadian government recently proposed to implement the "Remediation Agreement Regime", a program that mirrors deferred prosecution agreements ("DPAs") commonly known in the U.S.
A DPA is an agreement between an accused corporation and the relevant prosecuting authority. Pursuant to the terms of the DPA, the relevant charges against the corporation remains on hold while the corporation complies with requirements to engage independent monitors at its own expense, investigate and remedy wrongdoing, establish or enhance compliance policies and the like. The prosecuting authority will withdraw the relevant charges once the offending corporation satisfies the terms and conditions set out in the DPA. Assuming that the Canadian Parliament passes the legislation, the Remediation Agreement Regime will give Canadian prosecutors the discretion to enter into negotiations with the offending corporations that are charged for specific offenses under the Canadian Criminal Code and the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.
For more information, see here.
