New criminal offence declaration requirement

Amendment to section 59.3 of the Professional Code

CPAs are now required to declare to the Order if they are the subject of a lawsuit for an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of five years or more for which a decision has not yet been rendered. CPAs must fulfill this requirement within 10 days of learning of the charges against them.

It should be noted that this requirement also applies to charges laid before July 8, 2017, the effective date of the amendment to the Code.

This new requirement is in addition to existing requirements applicable to CPAs under section 59.3 of the Code, i.e. to inform the secretary of the Order of any decision finding them guilty of the following:

• a criminal offence;
• a tax act or a securities act violation;
• a disciplinary offence;
• illegal practice of a profession or unauthorized use of a professional designation.

Declarations must be emailed to affairesjuridiques@cpaquebec.ca.