VICTORIA – BC Liberal MLA Mike Morris admitted today that when he was Public Safety Minister, he knew vacancies were “50% or more” in RCMP positions dedicated to fighting money laundering. Despite his awareness that resources were inadequate, neither he or his colleagues raised concerns.

Today, Attorney General David Eby and Peter German released findings that the federal government currently has no full-time officers dedicated to fighting money laundering. Unlike Morris, Eby called publicly on the federal government to take action to address the situation.

Morris’s admission that he was aware but refused to act further establishes a pattern of the BC Liberals failing to respond to clear warning signs, including:

• Eliminating the integrated illegal gaming enforcement team in 2009 (Vancouver Sun)
• Minister Rich Coleman calling the RCMP to crack down on Inspector Barry Baxter for sounding the alarm publicly in 2011 (CBC)
• Intervening to raise betting limits in 2014, against warnings from regulators (Global News)

The BC Liberals have also continuously refused to provide cabinet documents to assist in the fight against money laundering.

BC NDP MLA Ravi Kahlon:

“The fact that the federal government has no resources dedicated to tackling money laundering is disturbing. It’s even more disturbing that the BC Liberals knew but failed to act. If Mike Morris knew that the federal government was failing on money laundering, why didn’t he say anything?”