1. Opening Remarks

Bill C-69, Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 (pre-study)

Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Minister’s Opening Remarks

May 29, 2024

Madame Chair, honourable members of the committee, I am pleased to be here today to discuss how our Government is taking swift and strong action to combat auto theft.

First of all, Madam Chair, if I am not here again before the end of June, I want to offer an early congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your time in the Senate and chairing this committee.

Our initiatives are especially focused on thefts involving violence or linked to organized crime as well as addressing money laundering.

I also intend to highlight some changes related to the use of judicial resources and changes to support a tax court system that is fair and accessible for everyone.

We know that a vehicle is stolen every five minutes in Canada. It is clear that auto theft poses a significant challenge to our communities.

Our Government is committed to taking action to keep people in Canada and their property safe. This is why we have included a number of important measures in the BIA that will effectively combat auto theft. We know the profits from auto theft are being used to fund organized crime, including human trafficking and the drugs and weapons trade.

Over the past few months, the Government has heard the concerns and challenges identified by provinces and territories, law enforcement, and the automotive and insurance industries.

This is why we convened the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft in February. Our commitments to address auto theft are reflected in our recently released National Action Plan, which builds on this important work.

Although the Criminal Code already has strong measures to address auto theft, more can be done. That is why the Government has proposed legislative amendments to the Criminal Code that would provide additional tools to law enforcement and prosecutors tailored to address violent auto thefts and to combat the complex criminal networks often involved in auto theft.

The proposed amendments include five measures:

  1. Two new indictable offences targeting auto theft and its links to violence and organized crime, punishable by a maximum of 14 years imprisonment;
  2. Two new offences for possession or distribution of a device suitable for committing auto theft with maximum penalties of 10 years imprisonment;
  3. An offence for laundering the proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization punishable by a maximum of 14 years imprisonment;
  4. A new aggravating factor at the sentencing which would be applied to an adult offender who involves a young person in the commission of the crime; and
  5. Provisions that make making wiretap warrants and DNA orders available to investigate these proposed offences.

These amendments will help law enforcement to investigate and apprehend those involved in violent auto theft and examine their links to organized crime.

They will give our police a better chance to intervene before thefts take place based on preparatory conduct like possessing and distributing technologies that facilitate auto theft.

The proposed measures would also provide courts with clear direction to impose more severe penalties for auto theft where appropriate and protect young persons from being used by organized crime groups in the commission of auto theft and other crimes.

These amendments will hit organized crime where it will hurt, by going after the money it makes through auto theft.

They do so through the establishing the offence of laundering the proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organization. This would include the proceeds of crime from auto thefts.

This new laundering proceeds of crime offence is one of several legislative measures that the government announced in Budget 2024 to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and sanctions evasion. Other money laundering-related reforms that the government has introduced through this Bill include amendments to the Criminal Code and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.

The proposed Criminal Code reforms in the BIA include:

  1. A new order to keep an account open or active for a limited period of time, available to law enforcement based on prior judicial authorization, to support the investigation of a criminal offence. This measure would support criminal investigations by preventing a financial services provider from closing an account suspected of being linked to criminal activity for a limited period of time to prevent the loss of evidence.
  2. A new production order, available to law enforcement based on prior judicial authorization, that would require a person to produce specified documents or data on pre-established dates over the duration of the order. This measure would support criminal investigations by providing for the timely production of recent and relevant documents or data on predetermined dates.

These supplement changes made in C-59 which will also make it easier to investigate and prosecute cases of money laundering.

These measures reflect stakeholders’ views provided during consultations into strengthening Canada’s anti-money laundering / anti-terrorism financing regime held in Summer 2023. The government heard from many stakeholders that new investigatory tools were needed to assist law enforcement in responding to serious crimes, notably money laundering. Stakeholders also emphasized the importance of Charter-protected rights. These measures contain important safeguards such as the requirement for prior judicial authorization, time limits, and an ability to challenge the order.

These amendments also respond to a recommendation, made in the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, to implement a formal keep open account framework to further criminal investigations.

Budget 2024 also announced amendments to the Judges Act to strengthen the complement of judges on the Court. The effect of these amendments is to move 17 positions from the unified family court stream to our superior courts.

While the government continues to support unified family courts as one way of providing access to justice for Canadian families, repurposing these 17 positions at this time will allow for a timely response to the demonstrated current pressures in Superior Courts, including possibly in family caseloads.

I am committed to addressing the Court backlog in this country. I have appointed 113 judges in my first 10 months as Minister, a pace of appointments that has no precedent in Canadian history, and eclipsing any annual total for a Conservative Minister of Justice. I will continue to work diligently to keep appointing high quality judges who reflect the diversity of Canada to Superior Courts across the country.

I also want to reference a small change made in this Bill to the Tax Court of Canada Act, which will all the Court to authorize a corporation, in specific circumstances, to be represented by a person other than a lawyer, if that person is a member of his organization, such as a manager or an employee.

While not in BIA, I do want to discuss investments made in legal aid by our Government in Budget 2024. Ensuring Canadians have equitable access to justice is an integral part of a fair and just society. This is why in Budget 2024 we invested $440 million over five years in criminal legal aid and $273.7 million over five years, with $43.5 million ongoing, in immigration and refugee legal aid.

These investments, particularly those in criminal legal aid, will support access to justice for Canadians who are unable to pay for legal support, in particular Indigenous people, and individuals from Black and other racialized communities, who are over-represented in the Criminal Justice System. It will also help with court backlogs. Unrepresented and poorly represented litigants cause delays in the justice system. Ensuring these individuals have proper support and representation will help ensure access to a speedy trial.

Thank you, I look forward your questions.