B.C. Premier David Eby said he will push provincial colleagues and the federal government to adopt U.S.-style anti-racketeering laws aimed at disrupting organised crime networks and the legal facilitators that enable them.
What Eby is proposing
Speaking ahead of intergovernmental meetings next week, Eby said Canada lacks a dedicated federal framework that can target individuals and entities who materially support or facilitate criminal enterprises without directly committing predicate offences themselves. He described the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — widely known as RICO — as a model worth pursuing in Canada.
"There needs to be a federal framework to target facilitators of crime who are currently operating legally," Eby said.
He acknowledged civil liberties concerns and warned that any expansion of police powers should be carefully tested, but said public safety demands stronger tools to protect citizens' right to live without extortion and organised violence.
Context and recent triggers
The premier pointed to a recent multinational enforcement action by U.S. authorities that resulted in the arrests of suspects around the globe and singled out three people in British Columbia who now face extradition. Those arrests, he said, underline a regulatory and prosecutorial gap in Canada when it comes to dismantling transnational organised crime networks.
| Enforcement action | Number of suspects |
|---|---|
| Worldwide arrests announced by U.S. authorities | 24 |
| Arrested in British Columbia | 3 |
Policy considerations and implications
Adopting a RICO-style law in Canada would raise several issues that premiers and the federal government will need to weigh:
- Balancing investigative and prosecutorial reach with Charter and civil liberties protections;
- Designing offences or civil remedies that can capture facilitators who operate through ostensibly lawful businesses or services;
- Co-ordinating federal, provincial and international enforcement to ensure effective application and to manage extradition and mutual legal assistance demands.
Eby has said he intends to table the proposal at the Council of the Federation meeting and during first ministers' discussions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next week. He framed the proposal not as a blanket expansion of police power but as a targeted tool to address extortion, organised fraud and other harms tied to transnational groups.
The Canadian Press first reported on the arrests that prompted the call for new measures. Any move to enact RICO-style measures in Canada would require federal leadership and likely prompt debate among civil liberties organisations, prosecutors and policing agencies about scope, oversight and safeguards.
