Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members of this House for allowing me to take part in the debate on this very important bill.
There is a lot we do not know about organized crime and money laundering, but we do know, from informed sources, that it involves a constant battle always in a state of flux. It is a substantial problem.
According to independent estimates for the Department of the Solicitor General of Canada, up to $17 billion is laundered in Canada each year.
There are a number of other estimates that reveal the scope of the problem. No one knows exactly how much is involved, but everyone knows that there is a real and serious problem, in Canada and throughout the world.
According to a recent study by the financial action task force, established at the G-7 summit in Paris in 1989, the way money is laundered in Canada and in the other member countries has changed in recent years.
Money launderers no longer limit their activities to banks and other deposit institutions.
Other kinds of businesses are being used for money laundering such as securities dealers, insurance companies, casinos, currency exchange houses, money transmitters and non-financial professionals including lawyers and accountants.
We know that proceeds of crime are often laundered through legitimate businesses. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada backed this up in its annual report on organized crime just last year. The physical movement of proceeds of crime across our borders is also part of this problem.
The new system proposed in Bill C-22 will be an important step in helping to prevent cross-border money laundering through airports and other border points. More than that, Bill C-22 builds on the excellent work that we continue to do in partnership with the provinces, territories and law enforcement agencies as part of a larger global network of countries fighting this problem together.
Despite vigorous efforts the current government and its partners continue to apply in Canada and abroad, we can still do much more. Bill C-22 represents a major step forward in the fight against organized crime.
I should remind hon. members that in the budget the government devoted significant new resources to increase federal policing activities, particularly in the area of organized crime. Over the next three years the RCMP will receive $584 million in extra funding. In the next fiscal year alone the RCMP will receive $59 million extra for federal policing services. This means more resources to fight organized crime activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling of commodities and people, telemarketing and commercial fraud.
The bill is further proof of our commitment to giving our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to do the job. By implementing the bill not only will Canada be living up to its international commitments to the G-8 and its financial action task force, but we will also be making good on commitments here at home.
The RCMP and police forces across the country will benefit from the system proposed in the bill as information from the new agency will go directly to the police to support investigations. Other federal agencies will also receive information from the agency to help investigate certain national security, revenue and immigration offences, but only when they are also related to suspicions of money laundering.
Allowing the new agency with suitable protections to share information with similar agencies in other countries will allow us to play our full role against money laundering on an international scale. It will also allow us to benefit from information that foreign agencies may have about money laundering going on in our country.
When dealing with global organized crime sharing information is vital, but we are also aware of the need to respect privacy in the process of investigating these crimes. We take these concerns very seriously.
We must bring our investigative methods up to date to fight against today's money laundering techniques. We need centralized and automated systems to discover the links between dubious financial operations and the movement of illicit funds, and to ensure their follow-up. This is exactly what Bill C-22 does.
Our consultations have shown strong support for a new and tighter anti-money laundering system. Officials continue to work closely with financial institutions and other stakeholders to make sure that the new requirements are clear and reasonable. We are also consulting provincial governments, the police and others to ensure that the new arrangements will address the needs that have been identified.
Bill C-22 strikes a sound and effective balance between the legitimate needs of law enforcement and respect for individual privacy. It will also make Canada a less attractive target for money laundering and send a clear message around the world that this is a country where organized criminals should not try to do business.