B.C. attorney general pushing for U.S.-style racketeering laws to combat organized crime
As the inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia winds to a close, CTV News has learned Attorney General David Eby has been asking the federal government to re-write parts of the Criminal Code to make it easier to target and convict people associated with organized crime groups.
Specifically, he would like to see Canada adopt tougher racketeering and money laundering laws similar to the United States Racketeering Influence and Corruption Act, which prosecutors have used to successfully target mafia families and other organized crime groups.
“The RICO statutes were very useful in bringing down organized crime with the five families in New York, with labour unions, with politicians,” said Scott Schumacher, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. “It adds a separate federal crime for organizations that commit existing crimes.”
Each RICO charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in a U.S. federal prison, and when the act is used the Justice Department can pre-emptively freeze a defendant's assets – and seize them outright in the event of a conviction.
Eby has been looking for enhanced federal laws to go after organized crime groups for more than two years.
“I’ve made many proposals to the federal government, including RICO-style United States-style laws, unexplained wealth orders, increasing and dedicated policing to go after money-laundering in the province,” he told CTV News.
The Cullen Commission has heard international organized crime groups have laundered hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in dirty money through the province.
In a January 2019 letter to Bill Blair, then federal minister of border security and organized crime reduction, Eby outlined the problem and suggested possible solutions, including enhanced racketeering laws.
“Law enforcement veterans who specialize in organized crime regularly raise concerns in the media and privately about the inability, under Canadian law, for successful large-scale prosecutions of the leaders of organized criminal groups to proceed, regardless of resources in law enforcement,” Eby wrote.
With the federal election in full swing, Eby promised to keep up the pressure no matter who wins.
"There are many opportunities available to the federal government,” he said. “And I look forward to working with whatever new administration comes in to address the issues.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.