Justice committee  To my knowledge, yes, it is.

Justice committee  Yes. It was Kirton.

Justice committee  The first part of your question is, why do we make the effort to prove that it's a criminal organization?

Justice committee  A criminal organization is defined in the Criminal Code. Basically, it's an organization of three or more people that has as one of its main functions, purposes, or activities the commission of crimes for the purpose of enrichment. In other words, money-making crimes as opposed t

Justice committee  It's beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, you asked why we have to prove it every time.

Justice committee  At one time there was some hope, particularly in Ontario. A few years back, I think in 2004 or 2005, Ontario got the first provincial conviction for gangsterism in the Lindsay-Bonner case in Barrie through Justice Michelle Fuerst of the Superior Court. After that major conviction

Justice committee  We do when we want them to be convicted for gangsterism. If Bill C-14 were passed and we wanted to use the provision under which a murder committed by a criminal organization is automatically first-degree, we would have to prove that the group in question is a criminal organizat

Justice committee  I would say it would be perhaps half the time. In a long trial with a number of accused, it can mean several months. It depends on the evidence available. Sometimes, we are lucky enough to have a witness from inside the organization who will say it quite quickly. But that witness

Justice committee  ... and that can take two weeks.

Justice committee  After that, we have to support that testimony by backing it up with other facts. So we have to find more evidence.

Justice committee  I believe human trafficking is covered by federal legislation and is usually investigated by the RCMP. Unfortunately, they're not here among your witnesses today, but that's one of their specialties and one of the fields they investigate. From the point of view of prosecutions,

Justice committee  There's a lot of cooperation between police forces in terms of exchanging information and helping to obtain evidence in foreign countries, but we've never treated international criminal organizations as one entity. I'm not aware of any occasion on which we've actually prosecuted

Justice committee  We have to start from square one.

Justice committee  For a jury. It is the finder of fact, whether that be the jury or the judge sitting alone, that must decide whether the group is a criminal organization within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

Justice committee  I am not sure that I understand your question.