Given this fact, our level of response must be part of an integrated approach.
We have realized, over time, that we could not work in isolation. We had to work in partnership and promote a coordinated and integrated approach. What I'm referring to here, is what is at the very foundation of projects Borax, SharQc, Machine and Colorie. These major investigations were on the front pages of every newspaper of Quebec last spring. This integration of police forces is also at the foundation of the success of two very active multidisciplinary units in Quebec. These are the Combined Forces of Special Enforcement Unit and the Aboriginal Combined Forces of Special Enforcement Unit, which, through their success and impact on crime, have demonstrated that they play a significant role in ensuring the well-being of Canadians and Quebeckers.
This being said, it's not all roses in the law enforcement world. In the same manner as police organizations have created partnerships, organized crime is also relying on alliances between various groups to carry out their actions.
Organized crime is present wherever there is money to be made. Organized crime is diversified. It is infiltrated in many areas of society. It is involved in many profit-generating crimes. Project Colisée which was conducted in 2006 by our Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, revealed the widely diverse nature of organized crime activity. Recently, one of our investigations revealed direct links between an outlaw motorcycle gang and tobacco smuggling (Project Château).
One of the features of organized crime is in fact its determination to establish a monopoly based on risk, for the production, distribution and sale of illicit goods in a given market. Today's criminals think like business people. They have a list of goods for sale and seek to maximize their profits. It is these huge profits that enable organized crime to maintain its influence and increase its lead on police forces. Ironically, it's not rare to see at the conclusion of our investigations that the accused are much more concerned with the loss of their assets than with the length of their sentences.
Despite the fact that profits and the power gained from money are what motivates crimes, the maximum sentence for possession and laundering of proceeds of crime is only 10 years. Dirty money, the globalization of our economies, the opening of our borders and the development of business technologies have facilitated the expansion of organized crime within democratic nations.
One of the major strengths of organized crime lies in its ability to identify and exploit the weak links in our legislation. Over the years, organized crime groups have become more sophisticated in their activities and have polished their image. They have taken advantage of the gaps and weaknesses of our system with surgical precision, using leading-edge technologies.
The Internet has become increasingly accessible, and the number of users now exceeds the billion mark. Software applications allow safe data transmission around the world in less than one second. Money changes hands in a binary form in a virtual space through computers, credit cards, debit cards and even smart cards. At the same time there are virtually no resources to help law enforcement agencies adapt to emerging technologies. The time spent looking for appropriate approaches means that we have to delay our actions, and that is allowing criminals to go about their business undisturbed.
In addition, in the 1970s, electronic surveillance worked very well in major conspiracy investigations. In the 21st century, this technique has become a real nightmare. Technology makes it increasingly difficult to intercept telephone conversations. And while the interception of conversations is sometimes possible, the burden of proof placed on investigators keeps increasing.
It is not uncommon for a police agency to have to produce in evidence thousands of conversations to prove a conspiracy case and meet the standards established in current case law. As a result, this shows criminals the innovative techniques used to investigate organized crime. In some cases, to comply with the rules of disclosure we have to give back the money seized to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation or to protect the identity of a witness.
Money being legal in itself, lawyers defending criminals will do everything to recover the money seized. More importantly, interception and disclosure costs have escalated, forcing law enforcement agencies to drastically limit their actions.
Many criminals make it an actual career to engage in criminal activity. This is a fact! Therefore we often find that subjects under investigation are also involved in other major cases. To perform our duties diligently, we must look into the past of our subjects under investigation to establish both the commission of previous substantive offences and total assets. Unfortunately, we are limited by the period of document retention. This is a major hurdle in the pursuit of our investigations.
As for financial institutions, they retain documents for a maximum period of five years. This interferes with efforts to obtain valuable evidence regarding the origin of funds and financial transactions. The use of forensic accountants is now required in most cases, especially in economic crime investigations. This illustrates how difficult it can be to track financial transactions and money.
The limitations on income tax information that can be obtained in the course of an investigation are also a major issue. I am referring in particular to section 462.48 which limits access to income tax information that is significant for our investigations.
In addition, when offence-related property is seized, the proportionality test can result in joint possession between the government and the criminal (R. v. Ouellette) or partial forfeiture of the equity.
Mr. Chair, while technologies are rapidly developing and transportation is getting increasingly available and efficient, we are still working within a legal framework that could be reviewed to better suit our reality. I am referring here to the notion of evidence gathering in those cases extending beyond Canada's legal jurisdiction as is the case for most major investigations conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It becomes more difficult for us to do our jobs when criminals travel, call or send electronic messages abroad. Mutual legal assistance processes make it difficult to obtain evidence in a timely manner.
The most difficult criminal organizations to investigate are the ones that show discipline and have learned from past mistakes. Using the massive disclosure of evidence made available to them, they have been able to better understand the limitations and effectiveness of law enforcement investigative techniques in Canada and abroad. The subjects we investigate no longer have assets in their names and if they do own assets they have no equity. They lease vehicles. They use nominees that cannot easily be dismantled. They own assets and bank accounts abroad. They use trust accounts and change their approaches with respect to income tax reporting to avoid reflecting their lifestyles, etc.
While we are dealing with high-level organized crime, which can easily be identified (outlaw motorcycle gangs, mafia, street gangs) or with organized crime on a lower scale, one fact remains: criminal organizations are skilled in the areas of planning and structure! The use of professionals to facilitate the commission of offences has now become standard procedure in the underworld. If you allow me, I will leave it to the Sûreté du Québec to address this issue with you.
Mr. Chair, I would like to bring your attention to a matter that is dear to my heart, and I am talking about promoting public awareness of the harm caused by organized crime. There is no doubt in my mind that we must take a more aggressive and strategically oriented approach in the area of communication. People must know about the facts. Let's take money laundering for instance, which is a crime that affects society in general, but for which we receive few complaints from the public. Several presentations and training sessions are available to business owners, financial institutions and professionals to educate them on how to detect money laundering. However, such communication and education efforts should not be the sole responsibility of law enforcement agencies.
With respect to juvenile crime, we also recognize young people to be key players in the prevention of crime in their communities. Consequently, we must look for stakeholders from various backgrounds to give more credibility to our awareness initiatives. Our Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service promotes this approach.
Mr. Chair, my intent with this presentation is not to induce fear, but to share our reality with you. In my years as a police officer, I have been in a position to observe that the gap between the resources available to organized crime and those allocated to law enforcement to fight organized crime is widening, but unfortunately at our expense.
Our legal system is now a step behind the current situation that has emerged from globalization and technological advances. Its components, namely prevention, enforcement, the judicial and post-judicial process should be more closely aligned.
In this context, I share the opinion of a colleague from British Columbia who appeared before you last April, and who stressed the importance of providing police officers with the best possible tools to help them bring major case files to a successful conclusion. One way to achieve this is to amend certain laws, for instance the Canada Evidence Act.
Let me say once again that the only way we can wage a successful fight against organized crime is through global action. To efficiently disrupt criminal organizations, we must continue to address the very motivation behind organized crime, which is profit-driven. I firmly believe that solutions already exist in this regard.
The fact that you are taking the time to listen to field people like my colleague and myself shows that you are concerned by the situation. Incidentally, let me say that we are very grateful to you for this opportunity today.
Thank you.