Industry committee  We're going to have more counterfeit here and we're going to be a hub for counterfeit going all over the place. I've seen cases where counterfeit is coming from Asia into Canada and then back worldwide, because with the Internet now there are a lot of websites that are in Canada and they're selling worldwide.

Industry committee  Only 2% to 3% of shipments are checked, period.

Industry committee  And they know the laws better than we do.

Industry committee  I believe that if we have the right laws and—especially with what Mr. Frith has said—if they go in under proceeds of crime, the government is going to recover perhaps more than the cost of the resources necessary to do a lot of this work.

Industry committee  In terms of some of the things that are on the road map, we can record our trademarks and copyrights. There is no recording of copyrights and trademarks in Canada. People at customs don't even know what copyrights and trademarks there are. In other countries they're recorded with customs, and customs have the ability to seize it by themselves.

Industry committee  I would also like to say that in my experience it's been growing exponentially. As for businesses I raided three or four years ago that maybe were just dealing in luxury purses, now you go into their stores and they might still have the purses, but now they have lighters, they have novelty items, they have toys—because counterfeiters don't specialize in one product, and they specialize in greed.

Industry committee  I must tell you, Mr. McTeague, that I've also gone to numerous international conferences on anti-counterfeiting--the recent global conference, conferences of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, and others--and I am regularly cornered by people from other countries around the world saying, what's wrong in Canada?

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of Parliament. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak before your committee. I greatly appreciate being invited to give my viewpoint on the issue of counterfeiting and piracy. In addition to being a founding member of the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network, I have been a lawyer in private practice for 26 years.

Public Safety committee  I served court orders at the Rideau Centre.

Public Safety committee  Absolutely. I've had legitimate businesses call me up and tell me, “Lorne, I'm closing my doors. I cannot compete.” I've said, “Call the police and complain. Call the government and complain.” The amount of money being made by counterfeiters and pirates is absolutely astronomical.

Public Safety committee  I was saying I've had the pleasure of having people over the years say, come and show me. I can tell you there are a few things in the works, but certainly any time anybody wants to come and visit a place like the Pacific Mall or take a look at the St-Eustache Drive-In Flea Market or the Richmond Night Market--we could find lots of places to look at in whatever jurisdictions.

Public Safety committee  There are about 450 stores.

Public Safety committee  I was there two weeks ago. There were 27 businesses selling pirated DVDs. There were 15 other businesses selling counterfeit products that represented over 20 clients that I represented. That's what I was able to identify in one mall from being there for an hour and a half.

Public Safety committee  Just briefly, I've been involved in training and educating for 12 years. This is the 12th year I've been doing conferences, primarily for law enforcement, customs, and other people, but I can tell you that as recently as the four-day conference in Toronto last December, there was a large media push, and it was put together by the companies.

Public Safety committee  His machine was in a manufacturing facility in a bricks-and-mortar building in Brampton.