In the light of recent controversy swirling around British Columbia and the money-laundering allegations that more than CA$2 billion have been washed via both legal and illegal businesses in the gaming field actions had to be taken. This Tuesday saw Vancouver City Council discuss a motion that would aim to guarantee a more transparent process of cash municipal tax payments. Next week is projected to see Councilor Christine Boyle introduce a special motion prompting citizens to join the public inquiry supporters.
Cash payments have supposedly made money-laundering possible when it comes to casino location situated in Richmond and across the province, which is a concerning fact for many officials. In an attempt to take measures and prevent such illegal activity from taking place in the future, a special motion was introduced at the most recent City Council meeting on Tuesday in Vancouver. Councilor Melissa De Genova introduced the motion that could facilitate the battle that is already happening across British Columbia.
Cash Transactions Need More Transparency
With the help of this new motion, Vancouver will have the obligation to collaborate with the British Columbia government, Vancouver Police Department, and the RCMP in order to maintain the flow of information consistent and uninterrupted. Keeping the transparency when it comes to cash payments is going to prevent money-laundering and efficiently implement the anti-money-laundering policies existing.
The next step that is going to ensure better circulation of intelligence would be the thorough review of the City Charter in an attempt to tighten existing requirements and introduce new ones related to the mandatory reports involving cash transactions. They are going to blanket over various businesses within the limits of Vancouver, individuals, and corporations that conduct cash transactions. Such payments could consider licenses and regular fees, as well as city taxes.
The integrity of the system is a mandatory requirement especially in the current environment of uncertainty and more questions than answers. In this sense, British Columbia is willing to work towards improvement now more than ever. Even though the system could be defined as reliable, at the moment cash payments made by residents of businesses operating do not have any limit. When it comes to large sums of cash, their source should be verified as legal, something that could not be done efficiently in Vancouver.
Public Inquiry Might Also Be on the Way
Parallel efforts for minimizing cash payments are also in progress, as this is expected to also reduce the risk of money-laundering attempts down the road. At the moment about one percent of the regular revenue payments are made in cash and expectations are that it will diminish in the future. In the meantime, another crucial topic gains momentum and more and more supporters chime in.
A public inquiry into money-laundering might be on its way and the Vancouver City Council is willing to claim its spot among the communities and individuals already supporting the move. Next Tuesday is going to see Coun. Boyle make a move and present the motion that could place Vancouver among the backers of a public inquiry on a provincial level. Earlier this month British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union announced it is going to seek a public inquiry.
It has been confirmed that Premier John Horgan and Attorney-General David Eby also support such a move, as it is going to bring an insight into what led to the system failure and copious amount of cash being washed. Last week federal Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair also discussed the subject with Attorney-General Eby, meaning that support grows every day.
