Thank you.
With that, since we're talking about money laundering, Chair, I would like to move a motion I had on notice.
It reads:
That, given the unprecedented $3 billion fine on TD by the U.S. Department of Justice and given that the criminal activity that this money laundering fuels has likely carried into Canada, the U.S. has named Canada as a major money-laundering country and Canada has developed an international reputation for ease of money laundering and has a lack of enforcement, the committee invite Bharat Masrani, chief executive officer of the TD Bank, the superintendent of OSFI, the Minister of Finance, Bank of Canada officials responsible for the financial crimes risk management program, and FINTRAC, and that these hearings happen in addition to the regularly scheduled committee work plan, and that in order to accommodate these witnesses, regular committee meetings be extended by one hour.
This is a big issue. The Prime Minister has said this is an issue, and I was glad to see my colleague Mr. Davies raise this in the House of Commons as well just yesterday.
We know the Liberals have ignored the issue of money laundering. That's why it continues to happen. Minister Freeland sent this committee a letter last year, in November 2023, asking us to do the statutory five-year review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. It's now October 2024 and the review has not yet been started.
In the meantime, recommendations from the Cullen commission in B.C. have been ignored. FINTRAC has no teeth when it comes to fighting money laundering. The Liberals are more focused on making band-aid solutions to the act in different budgets. They failed to crack down on organized crime and drug cartels, especially since these criminals launder the money they get from theft and extortion through Canadian financial institutions, casinos and real estate. Over $110 billion is laundered in Canada every single year. Money laundering is serious and a systemic criminal issue plaguing Canada and our financial and real estate sectors.
We saw TD Bank in the U.S. commit the largest money-laundering scheme in U.S. history. TD Bank is the tenth-largest bank in the U.S. and the second-largest in Canada. There is no way that money laundering at TD is an isolated incident that happened in the U.S., and there is no way it would stop at the border. Canada is known internationally—it's exactly what we heard today—for how easy it is to launder money here. In 2019, the U.S. State Department listed Canada as a major country of concern when it comes to money laundering.
This motion is not to attack any specific institution but to highlight that the system is broken. Bad actors can operate inside financial institutions without anyone stopping them. The government turned a blind eye to these crimes. FINTRAC has been ineffective in stopping money laundering. Since 2015, the total number of convictions for money-laundering offences have declined, and so have money-laundering investigations. However, the amount of money laundering being done has not. This shows how ineffective the system is here. Drug cartels operate with impunity, laundering money through real estate and driving up house prices for Canadians. Organized crime runs smuggling rings and commits car thefts and then launders the proceeds of those crimes in Canada.
This committee cannot even do a five-year review of the act on time. Officials spoke to this committee in February about how Canada's rating on money laundering with the global Financial Action Task Force was lowered in 2021. The next review takes place in 2025.
The damning TD money-laundering scandal in the U.S. shows the urgency for every member in this place to address money-laundering crimes and put an end to Canada's status as a major money-laundering country of concern. Canadians should be able to trust that criminals are not taking advantage of the financial institutions where we keep our savings and invest and that we rely on for loans and mortgages.
Oversight in Canada must be improved. Regulators must be given teeth to hold institutions and criminals accountable for money laundering and financial crimes. More responsibility should be expected from financial institutions. Penalties and fines should be painful and reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed. It shouldn't be chump change or a slap on the wrist for the people committing it. Penalties should be a deterrent against negligence or criminal activity.
I realize I'm asking to extend the time. However, since this is a very serious issue, we are open to accommodating it on a certain day—maybe on Tuesdays—until we get this done.
I'll leave it there.
I hope that we can get to a vote quickly on such a serious issue.