BC Tells Inquiry Money Laundering Has Warped Economy, Fuelled Opioid Crisis

Commissioner Austin Cullen looks over the hearing room before opening statements at the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, in Vancouver, on Feb. 24, 2020.Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press

VANCOUVER—British Columbia’s government says money laundering has distorted the economy, fuelled the opioid crisis and overheated the real estate market as a provincial inquiry into the criminal activity began today.

Jacqueline Hughes, a lawyer for the province, says the past cannot be undone but the government can take steps to make B.C. the most difficult jurisdiction to launder money.