B.C. Today – Daily Report April 9, 2019 Quotation of the day “What is happening is nothing.” ​ Attorney General David Eby says he rushed the release of a chapter of the new Dirty Money ​ ​ report to alert British Columbians to the fact there are no federally funded RCMP officers on the B.C. money laundering file. Today in B.C. On the schedule The House will convene at 10 a.m. for question period Monday’s debates and proceedings No new legislation was introduced on Monday. MLAs in the chamber spent the afternoon reviewing the estimates for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, completing them by end of day. Committee A also completed its review of the estimates for the Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology. Several MLAs wore green shirts in honour of Humboldt Broncos player Logan Boulet and to ​ ​ raise awareness about organ donation. “Incredibly disturbing”: Attorney General reveals no federally funded RCMP officers assigned to pursue money laundering in B.C. Attorney General David Eby called an urgent press conference on Monday morning and ​ ​ released a single chapter of anti-money laundering czar Peter German’s 300-plus page report ​ ​ ​ ​ on money laundering in B.C.’s real estate, luxury vehicle and horse racing sectors. “Despite two years of headlines about this issue, there are apparently no federally funded, dedicated police officers working on money laundering in B.C.,” Eby told reporters of German’s findings. “It is a startling piece of information.” The bombshell According to the report, the only dedicated money laundering resources within the RCMP in B.C. are provincial resources in the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team (JIGIT), which was formed in 2016 to crack down specifically on money laundering at casinos. “So if it’s not illegal gaming or money laundering in casinos, that’s not part of their responsibility,” German told reporters. “What we’re saying is: money laundering is a lot more than casinos.” Of the 25 officer positions and one civilian analyst the federal government initially said were operating in B.C., only 11 of the positions are currently staffed due to training, illness and various issues, according to German. Of those 11, only five are currently working as investigators. They are responsible for referring files to the provincial civil forfeiture office, according to the report. “Due to my prior experience, I’m wondering what five people can do in this area,” German said, referencing his RCMP background. “Not too much.” He described money laundering investigations as “very intense” and stressed the need for “specialists” and “cross-disciplinary” expertise. Eby questioned the wisdom of focusing federal resources on civil forfeiture. “Civil forfeiture without criminal investigation and prosecution is only one leg of the stool and the thing is going to fall over,” he told reporters. “What we really need to have is criminal investigation and prosecution and civil forfeiture is a complement to that. It is not the entirety.” Eby said he did not intend to release any part of German’s report, which his ministry received last week, so quickly. “This piece seemed critically important to get out there, especially with the federal government making decisions about the allocation of the budget announcement,” he said. “Given the scale of the crisis that we face … the resources in the budget should immediately come to B.C.” The province needs “people with experience and expertise” on money laundering to be recruited and deployed as soon as possible, Eby added. He told reporters federal Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair received a copy of the chapter on Friday. ​ ​ “I find it remarkable that after two years of headlines on this story, that there are no dedicated federal RCMP officers working on money laundering in B.C. — there is simply no excuse,” he said before watering down his accusatory tone. “I am not here today to point the finger because it could well be that the federal government believed there were 26 federally funded positions in B.C. — we don’t know.” Next steps Eby said the rest of German’s report will likely be publicly released in sections, with the parts pertaining to luxury vehicle sales and horse racing first and the real estate section to follow. “It’s much lengthier, there are more individual cases involved,” the attorney general told reporters, noting that publicly releasing information likely to be related to multiple active police investigations is “more challenging.” The release of the real estate section will be coordinated with the finance ministry, which is currently reviewing a separate report from an expert panel struck in September 2018. That ​ ​ panel focused on “gaps in existing laws, consumer protections, financial services regulations, ​ regulations of real estate professionals and jurisdictional gaps between B.C. and the federal government.” Meanwhile, with German’s report and the input from the expert panel, B.C. cabinet ministers are still mulling the possibility of launching a public inquiry, according to Eby. Liberal reaction “This is nothing new,” Liberal solicitor general critic Mike Morris told reporters. “I was quite ​ ​ shocked as I listened.” Morris said he queried Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth about ​ ​ RCMP staffing levels in the province during last year’s estimates debate for the ministry. “At that particular time, I did not focus in on money laundering per se,” he said. “I asked for the number of federal vacancies the RCMP had in this division at the time and it was 50 per cent or more.” The RCMP “is very aware of what’s going on” when it comes to money laundering, according to Morris. “Canada and B.C. already have some very robust tools in place.” Asked if the province needs a public inquiry into the issue, Morris was blunt. “No,” he said. “If David Eby was so serious and so concerned about money laundering in B.C., ​ ​ why didn’t he and the solicitor general get together two years ago and put 100 resources into it? This is something that was fully within their mandate — they didn’t have to point fingers at the RCMP or anybody else.” Morris, who previously served as B.C.’s solicitor general, laid responsibility for money laundering firmly on the current government, suggesting the NDP has not acted as decisively on the file as it has on others where its jurisdiction might be dubious. “This provincial government has no issue treading into federal jurisdiction when it comes to housing on First Nations reserves,” he said. “If they feel that money laundering is such a major problem in B.C., then put the resources into it and knock it down.” Morris said Eby “has wasted enough time playing politics with this significant issue.” Jason Kenney promises more pain at the pump for B.C. if his party wins Alberta’s election next week With just over a week to go until Albertans go to the polls, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney is promising to proclaim Alberta’s “turn off the taps” legislation on his first day in ​ the premier’s office if B.C.’s NDP government “continues to obstruct” the Trans Mountain ​ Pipeline expansion. “Unless John Horgan ends his unconstitutional fight against Alberta energy exports, the people ​ ​ of B.C. will need to get used to paying well over $1.70/L for gas as the result of NDP anti-pipeline obstructionism,” Kenney said in a news release yesterday. Alberta’s Bill 12 allows the province to require energy exporters to obtain a permit before ​ ​ shipping oil and gas across its borders; it was passed last year but was never proclaimed by Rachel Notley’s government. The UCP’s release quotes a statement Horgan made in the ​ chamber last year, saying Notley “does not want to proceed with the legislation.” ​ In February, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench rejected B.C.’s constitutional challenge of the legislation, citing the fact it had not yet been proclaimed. “When they’ve made their intention clear ... why do we have to wait to get punched in the face to argue that they shouldn’t be allowed to punch us in the face?” Attorney General David Eby said at the time of the ruling. ​ ​ Yesterday, Eby’s response was more subdued. “We’ve obviously been very concerned about ​ the constitutionality of that legislation since it was introduced,” he told BC Today. “We are ​ ​ prepared to act if Alberta takes that step. We hope they don’t feel the need to do that.” Today’s events April 9 at 11:30 a.m. – Victoria ​ Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and Tourism, Arts and Culture ​ ​ Minister Lisa Beare will make a consumer protection-related announcement in the legislature’s ​ ​ Hall of Honour. Topics of conversation ● The B.C. Conservative Party chose a new leader yesterday: Trevor Bolin, a city ​ ​ councillor from Fort St. John. “The B.C. Conservatives is the oldest party in the province and literally was the first to form government back in the early 1900s,” Bolin told the ​ ​ Alaska Highway News. “However, it's time to revive that, it's time to renew that, and it's ​ time to ensure we are the voice of people from everywhere in this province." ○ The B.C. Conservatives, who have been without a permanent leader since October 2016, ran just 10 candidates in the 2017 election and received 0.5 per cent of the provincial vote. ● In the wake of the #RightToBareArms controversy, BC Today’s Shannon Waters ​ ​ ​ penned a CBC opinion piece that digs into how women’s dress codes are applied in ​ ​ other legislatures across the country.