Merci, monsieur le président.
Thank you to the witnesses for appearing here today. I want to repeat my own apologies for the fact that it has been a bit of a struggle to get you here. We do appreciate your patience.
I want to zero in on one particular part of your presentation, Superintendent White.
Often we hear the notion that crime rates are going down in Canada, and therefore, if crime rates are going down, what in the heck is the government doing by trying to tweak up our justice system?
The logic of that has always escaped me. If only a thousand people are being defrauded instead of two thousand, it seems to me that the government still ought to be improving our justice system.
Your evidence today is very important, and I'm going to repeat some of it. You say, in terms of financial crime trends, the RCMP is seeing an increase in the volume and complexity of mass marketing frauds and identity thefts. Payment card and counterfeit payment card frauds have also increased substantially. An increase in Ponzi schemes is also emerging. In recent years, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre has documented an increase in the overall number of reported incidents of mass marketing fraud in almost all provinces.
I'm glad we were able to hear that evidence. It serves to buttress our government's approach, in my opinion, in making some much-needed changes to the law on sentencing and fraud.
Apart from that, as you know, Superintendent White, our committee is currently undertaking a study on organized crime. If I'm not mistaken, you have appeared before us on that. Can you tell me how involved organized crime groups are in these kinds of frauds that I've just mentioned? In terms of mass marketing fraud, identity theft, and payment card and counterfeit payment card frauds, how much of that is coming out of organized crime groups?