Canada: all set for Monday

Canadians don't live like the rest of us. They don't live in swarming cities, they don't dress up to go to the shops (hell, going to the shops might be a 100 mile round trip) and they don't like authority for the sake of it. Come to think of it, they are not so unlike most of us.

When counter-money laundering laws were imposed a decade ago, they hated them. And some sectors disliked them with a passion. Amongst the latter were lawyers and accountants and anyone else that thought they could be classified as a profession.

But times change and the constitutional challenges have been watered down - but in the post 11 September world, Canada has taken its time instead of making knee jerk reactions.

And although drugs are Canada's biggest organised crime threat, a mass of high profile frauds has also helped to encourage Canadians to think that crime busting should not be the sole preserve of the Mounties.

So on Monday, a law to comply with the FATF R40 2003 edition comes into force. A recent FATF review found faults - almost all of which were already covered in the new law.

So although there's no fanfare, there are no major arguments either.

That's pretty Canadian, too.