RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that Statistics Canada carry out the Criminal Victimization Survey annually, and that the Government of Canada provide Statistics Canada with the appropriate funds to do so, in order to give policy makers, police, the justice system and the public a better measure of criminal activity in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Correctional Service of Canada develop stronger rehabilitation programs, including mental health assessments, for offenders involved in organized crime. These support programs must also be continued in the post-release community situation to help ex-prisoners reintegrate into society.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Parole Board of Canada continue in its efforts to work with its police partners to create police reports designed to give the Board relevant and detailed intelligence about offenders without jeopardizing sources or investigations.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Department of Justice fully explore and implement as soon as possible other options than the creation of a list of criminal organizations which may make prosecutions of criminal organizations more efficient and,  therefore, quicker.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that legislative restrictions on the sharing of criminal intelligence concerning organized crime be examined.  The object of this examination will be to determine whether these restrictions have a valid purpose and, if not, whether they should be removed to facilitate the efforts of law enforcement to tackle  organized crime.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Automated Criminal Intelligence Information System (ACIIS) be upgraded so that it has the technological capability of managing the increasing amount of information that is collected about organized criminal activity in Canada. A new technological platform for ACIIS can, with appropriate security provisions, significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of analysts, investigators, and intelligence officers.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with provincial and territorial counterparts to encourage a close collaboration between the police and prosecutors in organized crime prosecutions in order to plan disclosure at the earliest stages of an investigation. Such disclosure should be guided by parameters of relevance which, to the greatest extent possible, are codified.  The model for such codification could be the process that led to the legislation of the so-called “rape shield laws”. Any defence request for additional disclosure materials should be particularized in order to identify the materials in question and to explain how they could assist the defence.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with provincial and territorial counterparts to establish a model of electronic disclosure that can serve as a standard Crown brief in all long, complex organized crime cases. Such a brief should be the product of police and Crown co-operation and should, amongst other exclusions, not include disclosure that could identify a confidential informant or reveal a secret police investigative technique.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Criminal Code be amended to impose mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal organization offences, particularly for the offence set out in section 467.13 of  the Criminal Code — Instructing Commission of Offence for  Criminal Organization.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Criminal Code be amended to increase penalties for money laundering offences.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in partnership with its provincial and territorial counterparts, allocate more resources in a stable, long-term manner for youth at risk of entering into a criminal lifestyle. This funding should ensure that youth at risk have access to programs to divert them from gangs and to promote alternatives to gangs.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in partnership with its provincial and territorial counterparts, allocate more resources in the area of addiction services and numbers of treatment beds in order to reduce wait times. The drug-addicted are particularly vulnerable to recruitment into organized crime and any assistance in reducing this vulnerability would be helpful.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that Statistics Canada be required to include in the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey all drug-related offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada consider the possibility of amending Part XII.2 of the Criminal Code to allow for the ownership of the proceeds of crime to be established on the balance of probabilities in cases involving organized crime offences.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that, at the next meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of justice, they consider the possibility of amending federal and provincial laws governing corporations in Canada so that the by-laws establishing a corporation and its annual reports provide information about its ownership, including the shareholders’ names and addresses. The ministers should also consider the possibility of establishing a time limit on the use of nominees in order to make the identity of the owners, officers and directors known.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends amending the regime under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to require automobile dealers, companies operating private automatic banking machines, construction and home renovation companies, racetracks and law firms to report cash transactions of $7,500 or more to FINTRAC. Guidelines would have to be established, however, to ensure that the reporting requirement imposed on law firms does not violate confidentiality or lawyer-client privilege.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that section 462.48 of the Criminal Code be amended to include the offence of money laundering involving property, objects or proceeds acquired through an offence designated in section 462.3(1) of the Criminal Code.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of justice, revenue and public safety consider the possibility of requiring law enforcement agencies to report illegal drug production in Canada to the Canada Revenue Agency.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends amending the Forfeited Property Sharing Regulations and the Seized Property Management Act so that the Seized Property Management Directorate can assume responsibility for managing the property as soon as it is seized.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that, at the next meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of justice, consideration be given to awarding more of the funds from the confiscation of the proceeds of crime to fighting organized crime.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada pursue legislation requiring telecommunications service providers and telecommunications device manufacturers to build the ability to intercept telecommunications into their equipment and networks.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada introduce legislation requiring telecommunications service providers and telecommunications device manufacturers to decrypt legally intercepted communications or to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies in this regard.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends the establishment of a statutory mechanism enabling law enforcement agencies, without a warrant, to require telecommunication service providers to disclose basic information identifying their subscribers. Privacy measures would have to be created, however, and prior court authorization would always be required to allow these agencies to intercept private communications.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada examine the possibility of requiring cell phone merchants to verify the identity of purchasers. It could also determine whether it would be appropriate to impose the same requirement on telecommunications  service providers.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that section 492.1 of the Criminal Code be amended to allow for the use of a tracking warrant for an initial maximum duration of one year for the investigation of an organized crime offence.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada examine the possibility of creating an offence in the Criminal Code regarding the use, possession, sale, manufacturing and importing of  jamming devices.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Canada Evidence Act be amended to give the Superior Court of Justice jurisdiction to rule on claims of national security privilege and remove the ability to appeal such rulings before the trial has ended.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Criminal Code be amended to provide a power to appoint counsel for a self-represented accused where the continued presence of the accused makes a fair  trial unfeasible.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that there be dedicated federal funding for the federal Witness Protection Program. This funding should at least provide a base level for the maintenance of the WPP at its current level of need. Funding should be assessed annually and increased, as needed, to aid in the fight against organized crime.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee understands that the RCMP and Public Safety Canada are currently working to amend the current WPP practice to facilitate the ability of provincial witness protection programs to obtain federal identification documentation without having to enter their protectees into the federal WPP and recommends that this change be instituted as soon as possible.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that section 515 of the Criminal Code be amended to specify that one of the conditions of an order granting interim judicial release can be an order to wear an electronic monitoring device.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the federal contribution to legal aid be reviewed for “mega-trials” with a federal law element (such as prosecutions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) in order to attract senior counsel.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada review the salaries of prosecutors with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to determine whether they are comparable with the salaries of prosecutors with provincial prosecution services.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that there be a review of federal public education programs to assess their adequacy and effectiveness in reducing the level of victimization caused by organized crime.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories to put in place a comprehensive crime prevention program.