On July 30th, 2021, a coalition of civil society organisations comprised of Transparency International Canada, Publish What You Pay, and the Canadian Taxpayer Federation and represented by Gratl & Company provided closing submissions to the Cullen Commission, British Columbia's high-profile investigation into money-laundering in the province.
Remarks included both a closing submission and a reply submission. In the closing submission, the Coalition highlighted several areas of focus. These include:
Difficulties in the quantification of money laundering statistics;
Canada's role with transnational and crime corruption;
The proliferation of tax evasion and the corruption of professionals;
Canada's historic failure at combatting money laundering;
Money laundering threats to Canada and British Columbia and in particular the criminal abuse of legal entities;
Regulatory developments in Canada and British Columbia's fight against money laundering; and
The need for further regulatory reform on corporate transparency;
Ultimately, the Coalition asserts its position that the establishment of a national corporate beneficial ownership registry is crucial.
In the reply submission, the Coalition responded to concerns around the recommendation to establish a national beneficial ownership registry. The Coalition addressed these concerns specific to both privacy and profiling.
Transparency International Canada is pleased to work alongside our partners - Publish What You Pay and Canadian Taxpayer Federation - to provide a voice for victims of money laundering. The Commissioner’s final report is due to be submitted to the Provincial Government by December 15, 2021.
Please find the full final submission here.
Please find the full reply submission here.
For inquiries, please contact:
James Cohen,
Executive Director, Transparency International Canada
E-mail: ti-can@transparencycanada.ca
Phone: 416-488-3939