The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that the U.S. decision to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Ottawa's decision to do the same creates new legal jeopardy for Canadian banks and companies that do business in Mexico, where a third of that country is under cartel control. Guest columnist John Turley-Ewart writes that determining what businesses or individuals qualify as agents of a Mexican cartel is properly the work of intelligence and policing agencies. If left to Canadian banks, it will, in many instances, cause debanking -- the closing of accounts of firms and individuals because they may expose the bank to criminal prosecution in the United States or at home. Canada must pro-actively manage the rules designating Mexican cartels as FTOs and the identification of their agents. Scotiabank, Magna International, Goldcorp, TC Energy and Bombardier have significant operations in Mexico. The reality is that legitimate companies in Mexico sometimes pay cartels protection money to keep employees safe and the companies' businesses open. Under the new U.S. and Canadian rules designating cartels as FTOs, such payments would likely be deemed terrorist financing activity.