VANCOUVER – Andrew Wilkinson should stop blaming police for the BC Liberal money laundering scandal and start accepting responsibility for the BC Liberal government’s role in ignoring the illegal activities, say the New Democrats.
This week, Wilkinson blamed the police for telling his government to dismantle the Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team. In reality, the previous BC Liberal government chose to ignore advice from the RCMP and allowed the spread of dirty money to spiral out of control, said Ravi Kahlon, New Democrat MLA for Delta North.
“It’s time for Mr. Wilkinson to stop shamelessly deflecting blame by blaming police. He should admit his government made a terrible mistake that allowed money laundering to grow completely out of control,” Kahlon said.
Anne Kang, New Democrat MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake, said Andrew Wilkinson should accept responsibility for the scandal and support the John Horgan government in building solutions.
“Andrew Wilkinson and the BC Liberals were firing investigators and burying reports rather than taking action,” Kang said. “Now we’ve learned that this illegal money laundering had ties to terrorist activity, the overdose crisis and the province’s housing crisis.”
Kahlon and Kang’s comments follow last week’s independent report commissioned by the Attorney General. The report suggests connections between dirty money and B.C.’s real estate market.
“Money laundering is not a victimless crime,” said Kahlon. “This activity may have played a role in making housing prices unaffordable. British Columbians paid the price while the BC Liberals ignored the uncontrolled spread of dirty money.”
“The BC Liberals left British Columbians behind,” said Kang. “I am proud that our new New Democrat government is working for people as we stop the spread of dirty money and tackle the housing crisis.”