DonLever Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 https://globalnews.ca/news/5278174/bc-government-public-inquiry-money-laundering-decision/ The B.C. government has called a public inquiry into money laundering in the province’s economy. Premier John Horgan announced Wednesday his government has decided to use the public inquiry to get to the bottom of how money laundering has seeped into the housing market, luxury car market, and casinos. “From day one, our government has been working to tackle the housing crisis and fraud that went unchecked for over a decade, hurting people and B.C.’s economy,” Horgan said. “We have taken decisive actions to combat money laundering, but questions remain and people in B.C. deserve answers.” The provincial cabinet has been grappling with the decision following the submission of the Peter German report and Maureen Maloney report looking into laundering in the housing market. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin F. Cullen has been appointed to head the inquiry. Cullen was appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court in 2001 and has had a long legal career in British Columbia. Cullen will examine regulatory authorities and barriers to effective law enforcement of money laundering activities. He will have the ability to compel witnesses and order disclosure. “This inquiry will bring answers about who knew what when and who is profiting from money laundering in our province,” Attorney General David Eby said. “The Honourable Justice Cullen will have the mandate, authority and resources to seek answers, perhaps most importantly among people and organizations who refuse to share what they know unless legally compelled to do so.” Eby says B.C. has received the full cooperation from the federal government and that is important because of the involvement of the RCMP and overseeing bodies like FINTRAC. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West and Vancouver Coun. Christine Boyle have been leading the way politically for the inquiry. “Our caucus supports this inquiry and stresses that it must be fully empowered under the Public Inquiry Act and without arbitrary limits imposed on the time period to be examined,” Weaver said. “This process must be transparent whenever possible throughout the proceedings, and the findings and recommendations must be released in a timely manner. The financial impact and human costs money laundering has had, and continues to have, on our province’s housing and opioid crises is staggering. British Columbians deserve no less than a full and complete account of how it was allowed to go on for so long and reach the scale that it did.” Maloney’s report released last week revealed that $5 billion was funneled through B.C.’s real estate market last year, driving already sky-high home prices up by at least five per cent. The B.C. government based its decision to call the inquiry on those reports. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 I don't know if this is just political theatre or if we'll actually learn something, but a good move regardless. Might put a few people on notice but if we keep allowing things like casino's then its all for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PhillipBlunt Posted May 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 15, 2019 Well, look no further than Christy Clark and her cabinet of snakes. String them up and.....problem solved. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofsurrey Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) Welcome to beautiful BC ...... Edited May 15, 2019 by kingofsurrey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said: Well, look no further than Christy Clark and her cabinet of snakes. String them up and.....problem solved. I'm not defending her in the least, but if this is going to be meaningful this has to go well beyond that. We already know what she was/is and she's gone. What do we do moving forward? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post kingofsurrey Posted May 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Jimmy McGill said: I'm not defending her in the least, but if this is going to be meaningful this has to go well beyond that. We already know what she was/is and she's gone. What do we do moving forward? Ok - i have a few ideas... I am sure many of you have alot as well....... Stop selling CDN passports for corrupt cash... Stop BC real estate developers and their agents to market/ pre-sell entire local new projects to OFFSHORE investors only..... Stop selling BC real estate to people with corrupt cash that want a place to park it.... lock it up.... and don't live in it... Stop allowing people to use our BC casino's as their own personal money cleaning services.... Stop letting non canadians to use our BC hospitals as free Birthing centres... Edited May 16, 2019 by kingofsurrey 1 2 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 1 minute ago, kingofsurrey said: Ok - i have a few ideas... I am sure many of you have alot as well....... Stop selling CDN passports for corrupt cash... Stop BC real estate developers and their agents to market/ pre-sell entire local new projects to OFFSHORE investors only..... Stop selling BC real estate to people with corrupt cash that want a place to park it.... lock it up.... and don't live in it... Stop allowing people to use our BC casino's as their own personal money cleaning services.... Stop letting non canadians to use our BC hospitals are free Birthing centres... I'd try to add in some legit investment sources that help locals as well, e.g., allowing tax free foreign investment in affordable rental buildings until we have enough rental space to service our population. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PhillipBlunt Posted May 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 15, 2019 11 minutes ago, Jimmy McGill said: I'm not defending her in the least, but if this is going to be meaningful this has to go well beyond that. We already know what she was/is and she's gone. What do we do moving forward? I agree that solutions have to be presented, Jimmy. KOS has a few great ideas that would be easy to implement. As well, utilizing Australia's approach of having to live a certain portion of the year in the dwelling purchased has to be law to curtail the parasitic actions of the offshore migrant millionaires. That being said, those guilty parties should be made to pay for how they absolutely and totally betrayed the people of the province they were elected to serve. She, and the scum that comprised her cabinet, should be gone, in every conceivable way. 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 9 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said: I agree that solutions have to be presented, Jimmy. KOS has a few great ideas that would be easy to implement. As well, utilizing Australia's approach of having to live a certain portion of the year in the dwelling purchased has to be law to curtail the parasitic actions of the offshore migrant millionaires. That being said, those guilty parties should be made to pay for how they absolutely and totally betrayed the people of the province they were elected to serve. She, and the scum that comprised her cabinet, should be gone, in every conceivable way. I wonder what Horgan already knows? he's got access to all the documents (if there are any) that the public never sees.... I suspect the Liberals involved were slimy enough to do any side deals out of the record books and anything they did would hang by a thread of legality. It sucks but these people know how to get away with things, which is one of the reasons I don't ever expect people in power to ever really pay. I'd rather focus on solution and prevention moving forward. If Horgan actually digs something up and Clark ends up in jail I won't cry about it thats for sure, she destroyed any semblance of party credibility and Wilkinson couldn't have been a worse choice to succeed her. I am still worried about Horgan destroying peoples home equity and not actually providing affordable homes, but so far that hasn't happened. I would have preferred an inquiry into affordable housing but I'm not opposed to this exercise either. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violator Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 If the report isnt released then we know that both parties are guilty of corruption. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Nothing will happen. End of story. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, Tortorella's Rant said: Nothing will happen. End of story. Most of me believes this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 6 minutes ago, Violator said: If the report isnt released then we know that both parties are guilty of corruption. They are politicians. They almost all have their hands in the cookie jar. How many politicians really have the best interests of their constituents (and not their own best interests) at heart? Maybe 10%? Less even? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master 112 Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Why don't we investigate something worth it? Who cares if there is laundering?--only those who deserve to benefit do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 1 hour ago, DonLever said: https://globalnews.ca/news/5278174/bc-government-public-inquiry-money-laundering-decision/ The B.C. government has called a public inquiry into money laundering in the province’s economy. Premier John Horgan announced Wednesday his government has decided to use the public inquiry to get to the bottom of how money laundering has seeped into the housing market, luxury car market, and casinos. “From day one, our government has been working to tackle the housing crisis and fraud that went unchecked for over a decade, hurting people and B.C.’s economy,” Horgan said. “We have taken decisive actions to combat money laundering, but questions remain and people in B.C. deserve answers.” The provincial cabinet has been grappling with the decision following the submission of the Peter German report and Maureen Maloney report looking into laundering in the housing market. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin F. Cullen has been appointed to head the inquiry. Cullen was appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court in 2001 and has had a long legal career in British Columbia. Cullen will examine regulatory authorities and barriers to effective law enforcement of money laundering activities. He will have the ability to compel witnesses and order disclosure. “This inquiry will bring answers about who knew what when and who is profiting from money laundering in our province,” Attorney General David Eby said. “The Honourable Justice Cullen will have the mandate, authority and resources to seek answers, perhaps most importantly among people and organizations who refuse to share what they know unless legally compelled to do so.” Eby says B.C. has received the full cooperation from the federal government and that is important because of the involvement of the RCMP and overseeing bodies like FINTRAC. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West and Vancouver Coun. Christine Boyle have been leading the way politically for the inquiry. “Our caucus supports this inquiry and stresses that it must be fully empowered under the Public Inquiry Act and without arbitrary limits imposed on the time period to be examined,” Weaver said. “This process must be transparent whenever possible throughout the proceedings, and the findings and recommendations must be released in a timely manner. The financial impact and human costs money laundering has had, and continues to have, on our province’s housing and opioid crises is staggering. British Columbians deserve no less than a full and complete account of how it was allowed to go on for so long and reach the scale that it did.” Maloney’s report released last week revealed that $5 billion was funneled through B.C.’s real estate market last year, driving already sky-high home prices up by at least five per cent. The B.C. government based its decision to call the inquiry on those reports. NDP should be good at this evaluation as when I did a search on such in your Province I found that the NDP had previously perfected the practice of laundering charity money for personal and party gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Whether or not this is political posturing, whatever....this does show that the public isn't just a bunch of idiots and "we're onto you". For so long, they acted on ignorance is bliss as they bought and sold our quality of life here. So, if nothing more, it'll serve as notice that the people have had enough. That the BS and lies don't wash along with the dirty money. That the pictures showing them smugly smiling with criminals that were a slap in the face are now going to come back to haunt them. That it's "out there" - not just at a national level, but world wide. We're a joke and someone has to wear that label. It likely started when we invited the world to come in '86 but the past decade or two things have gotten out of hand. When I apply for a job in a criminal hub and am told the clients "prefer not" to speak English (not "they can't"...."they don't want to") yeah...now we know why. Throw in a few more KOS: Qwillo license plates. Air BnB farm "house" hotels for foreigners to invite their overseas "guests". Luxury vehicles that are worth more than the houses here used to be that are driven by students. Homeowners who declare low income and collect subsidies that they cash and fill their high end purses with. Any home equity that is lost should (including mine) will be worth it. Some people are being driven out of their homes by rising property taxes so there's that flipside. The real estate market isn't dependable and so it should be homes that are bought, not investments for flipping. Speculating comes with risk and it's not guaranteed. Especially when it's done in a shady manner that's affecting the average Joe and young couple here. I love what's happening...high time for it. The can of worms was open but now it's time to do some clean up and get rid of the crud in this province. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 18 minutes ago, Violator said: If the report isnt released then we know that both parties are guilty of corruption. So? I mean from their point of view they don't even care. What is the public going to about it? Evidently nothing, ever. I'm surprised they haven't come on camera yet and told us to go &^@# ourselves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 21 minutes ago, Tortorella's Rant said: Nothing will happen. End of story. Incorrect A report will be produced. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 1 minute ago, Shift-4 said: Incorrect A report will be produced. yes, and nothing will happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 22 minutes ago, Tortorella's Rant said: yes, and nothing will happen Except that it is an "all eyes are watching" situation moving forward. Want to get voted in/out? Look, at a local level, our councilors here have grown pretty comfortable and smug in their positions...but there was a slight shake up this year when two of the long term developers got ousted for a fresh faced green and a young female who's been very active in the fight for the farmland. Now the numbers are split. I'm convinced that the Mayor held on to his position ONLY because the alternatives were awful. We can't just sit back because "nothing will happen". We have to be part of the movement to make things happen. On a "go to jail" scale? Probably not. But, at least things are starting to shift and ripples eventually do make waves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now