Organized Crime Infiltrating Government Bodies in Canada, Warns Inter-Agency Intelligence Service

Commissioner Austin Cullen, back left, listens to introductions before opening statements at the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, in Vancouver, on Feb. 24, 2020. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Thirty-one organized criminal groups (OCGs) have members employed in Canadian public sector agencies or departments, and six are known to have significant influence, according to a recent report by an inter-agency organization that serves to coordinate criminal intelligence among member police forces.

The 2021 Public Report on Organized Crime, issued by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC), identified over 2,600 OCGs known or believed to be operating in Canada, and said 14 are national high-level threats, with 7 in Ontario, 3 each in Quebec and B.C., and 1 in Alberta.