Conservatives promise $20-million national money-laundering inquiry, cite housing affordability
Credit to Author: Gordon Hoekstra| Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 00:27:25 +0000
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer pledged Monday to launch a national money-laundering inquiry to “root out” corrupt practices that inflate housing prices.
The election announcement was part of a four-point plan to address housing affordability — and called attention to the fact that money laundering is a Canada-wide problem.
“We believe that this will help get to the bottom of some of the shady practices that are going on,” said Scheer, citing the already-expensive markets of Vancouver and Toronto.
“(Much) of that money comes from overseas and this type of national inquiry will allow us to get to the bottom of it and to propose the types of changes that we’ll need to address it,” he said during an event in Ontario.
Dan Albas, the Conservative incumbent in Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, told Postmedia that about $20 million would be budgeted for the two-year inquiry. It would be conducted under the Inquiries Act and would have the ability to compel witnesses and order disclosure.
Albas said the inquiry would be expected to produce actionable recommendations for regulatory and legislative changes, as well as extra enforcement resources to crack down on money laundering.
“This is a priority,” said Albas.
Money laundering has been a hot-button issue in B.C. but is also gaining attention nationally.
Postmedia investigations between 2017 and 2019 found millions of dollars were being laundered through Lower Mainland casinos. Money-laundering prosecutions are rare and difficult in B.C. and criminals have used shell companies to launder tens of millions of dollars.
Another Postmedia investigation found at least $43 million in properties were tied to B.C.’s largest ever money-laundering case, which failed to lead to a criminal prosecution.
Albas pointed to a recent panel report, led by Simon Fraser University professor of public policy Maureen Maloney, which concluded money laundering is not just a B.C. problem.
The study commissioned by the B.C. NDP government estimated that $46.7 billion was laundered in Canada in 2018, $7 billion in B.C., much of that in the real estate sector.
“Without broad federal and provincial regulatory involvement, Canada cannot be successful in combating money laundering,” stated the panel report.
A database created by Postmedia to track progress of money-laundering recommendations generated by federal and provincial reports shows that only four of 49 recommendations that are the responsibility of Ottawa have been completed.
The B.C. NDP government has already decided to launch its own inquiry into money laundering, whose start may be delayed until spring.
The Trudeau government had agreed to participate and co-operate in the inquiry, but had rejected the idea of joining the inquiry or holding one at the federal level.
The Trudeau government said it did not want to wait two years to take action on money laundering, pointing to initiatives it had already rolled out to combat the problem.
That includes $70 million over five years, announced in the spring budget, to create a money-laundering task force, increase expertise in trade-based money laundering, and support financial intelligence gathering. Another $68.9 million over the next five years was earmarked to strengthen policing capacity.
The Liberals have criticized the former Conservative government for cutting RCMP funding and eliminating units that specialized in financial crime.
The NDP and Greens have also said money-laundering is a key issue, which is reflected in a recent Angus Reid survey that found nationally 74 per cent believe money laundering is a problem.
B.C. Attorney General David Eby, who spoke Monday about money laundering at the Union of B.C. Municipalities annual conference, was reluctant to comment on the Conservative’s promise of an inquiry. He said, however, he believed whoever was in power federally would participate in the B.C. inquiry to “get to the bottom of what is happening.”