GOVERNMENT OF CANADA MAKES SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS
IN COMBATTING ORGANIZED CRIME

OTTAWA, September 11, 2000 - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Solicitor General of Canada, released new information today demonstrating that the Government of Canada's Integrated Proceeds of Crimes units have made significant progress in combatting organized crime. Since 1997 assets valued at $140 million have been seized and over $70 million in fines and forfeitures have been realized as a result of investigations by proceeds of crime units across Canada. (Integrated Proceeds of Crime units were established to combine the efforts of agencies and government departments at all levels to combat organized crime.)

"Organized crime requires the close collaboration and cooperation between all levels of government and I am pleased that federal partners and provincial and territorial governments are adopting measures that further address the challenges we face in organized crime. In today's meeting I had the opportunity to again reiterate the Government of Canada's commitment to continuing our efforts in this area," said Minister McLellan.

The Ministers released this new information on the occasion of their meeting in Nunavut with provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice.

"Combining resources and expertise has yielded excellent results. Today we have thirteen units investigating organized criminal activity. The RCMP, Justice Department lawyers, forensic accountants, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency officials as well as provincial and municipal police are all working together to seize illegally obtained assets. These units are an important element of the Government of Canada's anti-organized crime strategy," said Minister MacAulay.

In addition to the work of the unit, the Government of Canada has undertaken important legislative initiatives to combat organized crime. For example, Bill C-22, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 2000, makes reporting of suspicious transactions, including cross-border currency transactions, mandatory thereby targetting money-laundering operations. It also establishes the Canadian Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre to examine these transactions.

Investigative powers for police were strengthened in 1997 when Bill C-95 was enacted. It introduced concepts of "criminal organization", "criminal organization offence" and "participation in a criminal organization offence" into the Criminal Code.

The Government of Canada also bolstered its Anti-Smuggling Initiative with an additional $78 million last year. In total, over a three-year period, the RCMP has received a $584 million budget increase and an additional $15 million a year for increased surveillance at Canada's airports. Because new technologies are presenting new challenges to police in conducting investigations, the Government of Canada recently dedicated an additional $30 million to develop ways for police to address technical impediments to investigation of serious crime.

Federal officials are also assisting the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Organized Crime to identify possible legislative and non-legislative solutions to address organized crime.

Canada is also a leader internationally, working through the United Nations, the G8, the Council of Europe and bilaterally with the United States, to ensure that the necessary legal framework is in place to combat crime globally. Last June, Canada and the United States discussed organized crime problems such as smuggling and trafficking, telemarketing fraud and money laundering in a Cross-Border Crime Forum. This forum was established three years ago and has improved cooperation and information sharing between the two countries.

A summary of how the Government of Canada is fighting organized crime domestically and internationally is attached.

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Ref:

Farah Mohamed
Director of Communications
Minister's Office
Department of Justice
(613) 992-4621

Michael Zigayer
Senior Counsel
Criminal Law Policy Section
Department of Justice
(613) 957-4736

Dan Brien
Assistant to the Solicitor General
Ministry of the Solicitor General
(613) 991-2874

Blaine Harvey
Director Communications
Ministry of the Solicitor General
(613) 990-2743