The first provincial election campaign since the June 2022 final report from the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. will have passed with nary a mention of anti-money laundering policies from any of the three major political parties.
Neither the BC NDP, Green Party of BC nor BC Conservative Party mention money laundering once in their platform.
"It's surprising to see no policy recommendations for combating money laundering in party platforms,” said Sasha Caldera, campaign director at the non-profit lobbying group Publish What You Pay Canada, which advocates for transparency in the financial sector to combat money laundering and fraud.
“Organized crime networks have been routinely laundering money in B.C. real estate, and this has artificially driven up home prices. Given that the province is facing an auto theft crisis and a fentanyl emergency that have devasted families and communities, I suspect voters would like to understand how parties are prepared to act to address this provincewide issue,” added Caldera by email.
In June 2022. Commissioner Austin Cullen concluded that “an enormous volume of illicit funds is laundered through the British Columbia economy every year, and that activity has a significant impact on the citizens of this province … crime that destroys communities — such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and fraud.”
Of the 101 recommendations Cullen made in his June 15 final report, 40 are directly related to real estate, and several others are ancillary, such as proposals to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) policies within financial institutions and the asset forfeiture legal regime, as well as greater controls on notaries and lawyers, who process transactions.
Caldera noted some measures the BC NDP government has taken, such as a beneficial ownership registry for residential properties and the creation of a corporate beneficial ownership registry.
But what is perhaps the chief recommendation, an anti-money laundering commissioner to oversee government policies and progress on the matter, was dismissed by Premier David Eby earlier this year.
Then, Eby said his government has taken alternative paths with other recommendations, such as a new unexplained wealth orders regime via civil forfeiture and more robust mandatory identification measures when buying and selling a home, including the registry.
But, said Caldera, "parties should commit to appointing an independent AML commissioner and pledge to advance corporate transparency to ensure that B.C. companies aren't being abused by professional money launders or their enablers.”
In total, without the AML commissioner, at least 10 recommendations cannot be fulfilled as envisioned by Cullen.
Running against Eby in the Vancouver-Point Grey riding is BC Conservative Party candidate Paul Ratchford, who has in the past, taken a much more critical view of Eby’s efforts.
In 2019, Ratchford included the commission as part of a list of government policies that he labelled as a “war on capital.”
Ratchford did not respond to Glacier Media’s offer to comment on AML policies should the BC Conservatives form government.
University of B.C. political scientist Stewart Prest said as far as the BC NDP goes, “perhaps this is one of those issues where, because they don't have anything in particular new to say, they’re not going to add to the conversation.”
Prest said while the BC NDP has “bona fides” on the issue, as compared to the BC Conservatives, “it may be they are looking at where voters themselves are saying that they need action such as on affordability, housing and health care and so on.”
