VANCOUVER

'Extraordinarily serious problem': Feds promise B.C. cash to fight money laundering

The Canadian Press Published Friday, August 30, 2019 8:41AM PDT Last Updated Tuesday, September 24, 2019 8:55PM PDT

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Jonathan Wilkinson, left, and British Columbia Premier John Horgan, right, look on as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement at BC Hydro Trades Training Centre in Surrey, B.C., Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will ensure cash to fight money laundering gets to B.C. "in time," though he was unclear on whether that would happen before the federal election begins.

Trudeau says Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair has been working closely with his counterparts in B.C. to fight the "extraordinarily serious problem" of money laundering.

Federal funding in the March budget included nearly $73 million to create an anti-money-laundering task force with more cash earmarked for police investigations.

B.C. Attorney General David Eby has said he expects the province to get a significant portion of those funds and Blair has said discussions haven't taken place between the two governments on how the money would be allocated.