OTTAWA, May, 30, 2005 – The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler, today introduced amendments aimed at further targeting the illicit proceeds of crime, including those related to organized crime and serious drug offences. “ The Government of Canada is putting forward additional measures to help combat organized crime and remove illicit proceeds from organized criminal groups, ” said Minister Cotler. “ This proceeds of crime bill is aimed at the heart of the motivation for organized crime –illicit financial gain.” The current proceeds of crime provisions of the Criminal Code have been in place since 1989. At present, in order to obtain an order of forfeiture, the Crown must prove on a balance of probabilities, that property is the proceeds of crime and that the property is connected to the crime for which the person was convicted. If no connection between the offence and the property is established, the court nevertheless may order the forfeiture of the property if it is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the property is the proceeds of crime. In building on this existing legislative scheme, the amendments introduced today provide that: once an offender has been convicted of either a criminal organization offence, or certain offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the court shall order the forfeiture of property of the offender identified by the Crown unless the offender proves (reverse onus) on a balance of probabilities, that the property is not the proceeds of crime; in order for the reverse onus to apply, the Crown would first be required to prove, on a balance of probabilities, either that the offender engaged in a pattern of criminal activity for the purpose of receiving material benefit or that the legitimate income of the offender cannot reasonably account for all of the offender’s property; “The amendments introduced today will provide law enforcement with an additional tool to target proceeds of crime, and will further contribute to the disruption, deterrence and, ultimately, dismantling of criminal organizations,” said Minister Cotler. “I want to express my appreciation for the support of this initiative to the FPT Ministers of Justice, and to the opposition parties for their involvement. It is a case study of how Parliament can work in the public interest.” Legislative amendments introduced in today's proceeds of crime bill will also clarify the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, to ensure accord between the English and French versions of a provision; to more explicitly affirm the Attorney General of Canada’s authority to pursue proceeds of crime in certain circumstances; to more explicitly affirm the ability of the Crown to seek proceeds upon conviction of offences where the Crown has the option to proceed either on indictment or by way of summary conviction; and, to ensure the applicability of Controlled Drugs and Substances Act warrants to investigations of drug-related money laundering and the possession of property obtained by drug-related crime. -30- Backgrounder: Key Highlights of the Proceeds of Crime Bill Info: Denise Rudnicki Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Justice (613) 992-4621 Media Relations Office Department of Justice Canada (613) 957-4207
