Section 3: Mr. Peter Mancini (Sydney—Victoria, NDP)
Section 3: Hansard -- Mr. Peter Mancini (Sydney—Victoria, NDP), April 30, 1998
[. . . . ] Mr. Peter Mancini (Sydney—Victoria, NDP): . . . In Montreal the existence of biker gangs that engage in warfare are of concern.
[. . . ] influence of organized crime. [. . . . Every Canadian ] will watch the movements of the minister on the issue of organized crime.
(1020)
It is an issue that requires national attention. In the last year, as I have indicated, we have realized the biker gangs and the organized crime which is present at Canada's ports. I have raised these issues in the House on many occasions. There are allegations of infiltration and involvement in the ports.
Comment
These are no longer "allegations" of infiltration and involvement in the ports, but a "fact".
We know that Canada has been placed on the United States list of nations about which they are most concerned in terms of money laundering. . . . .
The increased globalization, the increased freedom of capital to flow from one nation to another, with limited checks and balances, has opened the door for organized crime to infiltrate this country. The opening of the ports, the reduction of tariffs and the cutbacks of police agencies that can properly monitor what happens in this country and what goods come in have given more power to organized crime.
I welcome the initiative. We need to allow our police agencies to become technologically advanced and ensure that they have the proper and the necessary tools to fight organized crime which is becoming increasingly technologically advanced in this country.
Comment
And so we have had, for example, the DND contract(s) for computers and computer servicing overseen by Hewlett Packard. In fairness, HP was told by someone--DND? civil servant? government?--that HP could not have access to information which it normally would have had in overseeing a contract -- because of DND "secrecy" or "privacy" concerns. The result has been a scandal involving over $100-million and at least one individual involved (allegedly) currently living in the Turks and Caicos. (See Section 5) Were there similar CSIS/RCMP contracts?
