Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, last week, wonderful news was received by all of us who have been involved in the fight against overseas tax evasion and money laundering. On March 22, the Government of Canada introduced in the House of Commons Bill C-42 to establish a beneficial ownership registry in Canada, which addresses most of the concerns of those seeking to solve the ongoing problem of Canada’s worldwide status as a haven for money laundering.

As Jon Allen, member of the Board of Directors of Transparency International Canada, stated when he appeared in December 2017 before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce:

The bottom line . . . [is that] more rigorous identity checks are now required for individuals to obtain a library card in Toronto or Ottawa than for those establishing companies in Canada.

I want to thank Finance Minister Freeland, who was the driving force behind this legislation. Many of us have been after the government for years and years to address this problem, and no previous Minister of Finance would take any action. Minister Freeland not only took action but has proposed a beneficial ownership registry that is free to access, contains verified information, is accessible to the public and is adaptable to include the information held by provinces and territories that decide to participate.

In addition, Minister Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, has applied his extensive business experience to finalize a very impressive and targeted piece of legislation. This bill, among other things, proposes administrative sanctions and criminal penalties of up to $200,000 and/or six months of jail time for violation of the act.

But for this legislation to be successful, we will need all provinces and territories to participate fully in the fight against money laundering. When this legislation comes to the Senate, we will, as always, do our careful study and review to see if further improvements are needed.

Overall, however, this long-overdue legislation has finally arrived in Parliament and will be a tremendous benefit to Canada when it finally passes. Thank you.