The B.C. Civil Liberties Association stated that it is opposed to adopting a tough-on-crime strategy to combat money laundering in the province, including the adoption of unexplained wealth orders, the active pursuit of civil forfeiture, greater police, and extensive information collecting and sharing.
“These invasive measures undermine constitutional rights, have not been adequately tested, and would be expensive to implement,” wrote the BCCLA’s Stephen Chin and Jessica Magonet.
Eby acknowledged those concerns, but maintained that he does not want BC to be a province where organized crime is condoned, money laundering is accepted, and individuals can enjoy luxury goods obtained through ordinary people’s misery.
In the UK, unexplained wealth orders have had mixed results. There have been several failed attempts to confiscate opulent London houses held by citizens of former Soviet Union member states in central Asia.
“If you pass an (unexplained wealth order law) and you don’t resource law enforcement, it will fail and it will fail spectacularly,” said Jeffrey Simser, a former legal director of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, during a panel on unexplained wealth orders hosted by the University of B.C.’s anticorruption law program this week.
