Thank you for the invitation to appear before this committee.
I wish to address certain amendments related to money laundering that are contained within Bill C-59.
Before doing so, allow me to introduce myself and to apologize for not being there with you.
I've been engaged in the field of anti-money laundering since Canada adopted proceeds of crime legislation in 1989. That work included being director general of financial crime for the RCMP, completing graduate degrees on the topic, teaching at law schools, providing expert opinion evidence, speaking within Canada and internationally, and working as a consultant. I'm the author of a text published by Thomson Reuters, which has been on the market since 1998 and is the only current service dealing with Canada's proceeds of crime legislation.
The Vancouver Anti-Corruption Institute is an entity created in part as a response to two reports written for the then attorney general David Eby: “Dirty Money” and “Dirty Money—Part 2”.
Mr. Jeffrey Simser, who appeared before this committee on April 9 of this year, is a professional colleague of mine and has a distinguished record of service in the province of Ontario, including being the first director of civil forfeiture in Canada. We endorse the comments he made to this committee and will not repeat them.
In British Columbia, there are virtually no prosecutions under way for money laundering. Police officers and prosecutors cite a plethora of reasons why. Most revolve around the wording of the Criminal Code and judicial decisions. As a result, most asset forfeiture in B.C. occurs by way of civil forfeiture. British Columbia has a very successful civil forfeiture regime. This is good; however, it simply removes money and goods from criminal actors, which they should not have in the first place. The individuals are not sanctioned, they are not charged and they do not go to jail. We need a robust Criminal Code regime that deals with money laundering.
For many years, the major complaint of police and prosecutors has been the difficulty in connecting dirty money to its predicate crime, which is a requirement of the offences. Bill C-59 attempts to overcome that obstacle in the case of third party money launderers. These are individuals who do not necessarily commit predicate offences, such as drug trafficking, but specialize in the laundering of money. Internationally, we now use the term “global money-laundering organizations” to identify third party money-laundering entities that contract their services. In many cases, they operate out of major financial hubs.
Canada has witnessed a considerable uptake in money laundering. We are an easy target for laundering organizations for any number of reasons.
I am pleased to see the amendments to the Criminal Code that attempt to deal with third party money laundering. I'm also very pleased that the undertaking requirement that was previously located within the “Special search warrant” and “Restraint order” provisions of the Criminal Code is being removed.
My only disappointment is that it has taken us since 1989 to make these changes. This is symptomatic of a greater problem. We are tweaking our legislation; we are not grabbing it, shaking it and making sure it is effective. Without going into detail, I fully anticipate that there will be further amendments to the very amendments being considered today.
I also wish to support the inclusion of white-label ATMs under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. People, such as I, have been calling for this change for probably 20 years. It is well overdue.
Members of the committee, we can do better. Canadians do not want their country to become a haven for money launderers. This will require political and bureaucratic will and a continuing commitment to rid Canada of this vice.
Thank you. I am most pleased to answer any questions you may have.