Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the parliamentary secretary. I guess this is your first official meeting.
I have a quick question on the Auditor General's report dated November 2004, chapter 2, “Implementation of the National Initiative to Combat Money Laundering”. The first issue was regarding legislative limits. Mr. Dykstra asked the question, but I think it was a question that was more politely worded. There was a problem with what FINTRAC may disclose, and I'm not sure the bill addresses it.
The report says:
FINTRAC may disclose on suspicious transactions to so-called "tombstone" data: account numbers; names of the account holders; and places, dates, and values of transactions that have occurred. When a disclosure is related to an ongoing investigation, these data can be useful in corroborating findings or providing new leads.
But then it goes on to say:
In short, as the system now works, FINTRAC's disclosures can contribute to an existing investigation but generally generate new ones.
I'm not sure how the legislation would correct that.