The Federal Government’s New
Measures Against Organized Crime

April 5, 2001

Fulfilling a commitment made in the Speech from the Throne, our government introduced today new aggressive, broad-based measures and new funding that will place Canada among the world's leaders in combatting organized crime.

These measures will help safeguard Canadians from new and emerging forms of crime through stronger anti-gang laws, a new prosecution strategy and increased funding. They will also protect people involved in the justice system from intimidation.

Several provisions of the proposed legislation will improve anti-gang legislation enacted in 1997 by giving law enforcement officers stronger investigative powers and by taking aim at the cornerstones of criminal organizations by targeting those who participate in their activities and seizing profits from organized crime activities.

More specifically, the proposed amendments will:

• introduce three new offences and tough sentences that target various degrees of involvement with criminal organizations. These provisions aim at anyone who:

• knowingly participates or contributes to the activities of the criminal organization to help further its criminal objectives. For example, this provision could catch people who recruit new members and intermediaries who facilitate illegal transactions. The maximum sentence would be five years imprisonment;
• is involved in committing any indictable offence for the benefit of a criminal organization. The maximum sentence would be 14 years imprisonment; and
• is a leader of a criminal organization. The maximum sentence would be life imprisonment;

• improve the protection of people who play a role in the justice system from intimidation against them and their families. Intimidating a justice system participant would be punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment;
• simplify the current definition of "criminal organization" in the Criminal Code;
• broaden powers of law enforcement to forfeit the proceeds of crime, and in particular, the profits of criminal organizations and to seize property that was used in a crime; and
• establish an accountable process to protect undercover law enforcement officers from criminal liability when they commit what would otherwise be considered illegal actions while investigating and infiltrating criminal organizations.

Our government will also mount a new Intensive Federal Prosecution Strategy against Organized Crime that will ensure increased co-ordination between investigators and prosecutors and more effective investigations and prosecutions.

We will inject an additional $200 million over the next five years to implement legislation and related prosecution and law enforcement strategies to fight organized crime. This funding will add to the $584 million dedicated in last year’s federal budget and over $300 million from previous years for RCMP activities.

Today's announcements reinforce the progress our government has made in recent years in taking action against organized crime. In the last four years alone, the federal government has introduced no less than eight pieces of legislation and a series of other measures that have strengthened the ability of law enforcement authorities to go after criminal organizations and our ability to protect our borders.