Excellent. I'll endeavour to speak for less than that, given that Gary covered many of the points I intended to make.
Before I begin my opening remarks, I think it is essential to point out that there is a strategy to promote public safety across the country.
This strategy rests on three pillars. First, strengthening criminal laws. Second, investing to support our borders and those working on the ground. Third, investing to improve public safety in the long term.
This particular bill, I would suggest, falls most cleanly into the pillar associated with supporting the front line. Of course, as Minister Anandasangaree pointed out, there will be direct investments to increase the horsepower with new hires in the RCMP to work on financial crimes, but we also need to give them the tools they need to succeed. Some of those have come through other pieces of legislation that give them the investigative tools, but the establishment of a financial crimes agency will centralize expertise and create points of contact and efficiencies within the investigation process that will make it easier for those on the front lines to do their jobs.
It's essential that we recognize the scale of the problem and the changing nature of the problem when it comes to financial crimes. We're talking about reported losses that exceed $600 million annually. That's a fraction of what we expect may be the true cost, knowing that there's dramatic under-reporting when it comes to victims of fraud. Sometimes we're dealing with individual cases where a person may fall victim to a scam online using new technology with which they are unfamiliar. Other times it will involve sophisticated cross-border operations that are very difficult to track for an individual law enforcement agency that does not have national or international reach.
We also need to recognize that the proceeds of this crime are being used by criminal organizations to fund other illicit activities. By addressing financial crime, we can go upstream in that process to diminish the ability of criminal organizations to do harm to Canadians and other victims around the world.
The path forward will of course involve the creation of the financial crimes agency, which is the subject of this legislation, but I would add, in addition to the points that Minister Anandasangaree laid out, the tools that we're developing through different pieces of legislation. A point that was referenced in the spring economic update of last year indicated that I will be seeking to advance new legislation, or to at least explore new legislation, to support the investigation and prosecution of complex financial crimes going forward. Each of these different portions of the response to financial crime will build together a system that will allow us to more effectively combat crime that increasingly crosses borders, moves quickly and uses new technologies.
With that, colleagues, I'll save whatever time I have left for questions. I thank you for your attention to this matter. We have the opportunity to work together to combat organized crime and protect victims of fraud across Canada.
Thank you.