Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to ask one question about an issue that has popped up from time to time over the last eight years that relates to sanctions enforcement. More specifically, it relates to anti-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering.
As you know, last year new rules came into effect from law societies across Canada, which many people have said still give the self-regulatory system too many ways to avoid AML and ATF—anti-terrorist financing—rules. Critics have said that this self-regulatory system of law societies with respect to ATF and AML rules is just a smokescreen to avoid federal oversight.
Recently there have been a number of reports that have highlighted this self-regulatory system as a problem. The Financial Action Task Force has said that exempting lawyers from federal oversight with respect to AML and ATF constitutes a significant loophole, especially with respect to money laundering and real estate. The Cullen commission reached a similar conclusion in British Columbia. As well, a separate B.C. government-commissioned report written by the former deputy commissioner of the RCMP concluded that “Lawyers are the 'black hole' of real estate and of money [laundering] generally.”
In the United Kingdom, lawyers are ultimately overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, which is an agency of the U.K. government, with respect to anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules.
My question is this: Do you think it's time to enact federal legislation consistent with the 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Canada v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada so that we can return to the pre-2015 system by which federal authorities oversee lawyers with respect to anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules?