The Canadian government has enacted new legislation making it illegal for Canadians to bribe foreign public officials in the course of doing business with their country. Businesses convicted under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act face heavy fines. Individuals face up to 10 years in prison. This new legislation builds upon experiences in the United States, where it has been illegal to bribe foreign officials since 1977. The United States also updated and expanded the jurisdiction of its existing International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act, which now makes it illegal to pay public officials in an effort to assist in, obtain or retain business. These amendments have been expanded to include officers and employees of international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

In February 1999, 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) along with five non-member countries, also committed to enact anti-corruption legislation. Thus far, 10 countries (Canada included) have done so. "Canada, along with other OECD Convention signatories has entered into an era where international business transaction and dealing with foreign government officials should be carried out on a level playing field," says Timothy Martin, Vice-president and General Counsel to Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. "It will be interesting to see if any potholes develop in the various home pitches around the world." Martin was the keynote speaker at an April 1999 Transparency International workshop on anti-corruption.

For a long time, the payment of bribes was considered just another cost of doing business. Often, such payments were obscured by having them made through intermediaries, consultants or agents. This indirect payment of bribes is also covered by the new Act. One very sensible provision of the new Act however, allows for minor facilitation payments made to expedite routine transactions such as visas or processing of services and inspections be exempted.

Canadian business, government and civil society, have a clear interest in combating corruption and bribery in international business transactions. Not only does the practice distort markets, it also undermines efforts at democracy and stability, especially in countries in transition or developing economies. Some concern has been raised by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who are charged with enforcing the Act. Some officers believe the law will be difficult to enforce, since investigations and the prosecution of foreign bribery offences are hard to co-ordinate and can get tangled in jurisdictional disputes. It has also been indicated that the resources available to deal with such cases are not adequate.

There is a dawning realization that bribes eliminate competition, create inefficiencies ultimately costing countries and their consumers more money. One only has to look at a list of the most corrupt countries to see that it is very similar to the list of least developed countries. As Paulo Mauro states in his book, Why Worry About Corruption?, it has been demonstrated that countries with high corruption have less investment and lower growth rates in their economies. The result has been growing support in international trade and development organizations for policies aimed directly at eliminating corruption. These laws will make change for the good, but they won’t change everybody’s behavior. As American humorist Kin Hubbard once said, "Honesty pays, but it doesn’t seem to pay enough to suit some people"