Organized crime isn't just a big-city problem, says the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada's (CISC) 2006 annual report. Outlaw groups are also operating in smaller urban centres, rural areas, and on Aboriginal reserves across the country.
"Organized crime groups can be found virtually everywhere there is profit to be made from criminal ventures," says the 30-page document released on August 18.
Although the figures mentioned in the report—800 criminal organizations, including 300 street gangs—are higher than the ones presented a few years ago, CISC Deputy Director General Bill Hubble says that doesn't necessarily mean organized crime is on the rise.
"It's just more accurate numbers," said Hubble, reflecting CISC fine-tuning its method of identifying criminal groups.
In terms of rural crime in particular, he noted that CISC had been monitoring the situation closely for only the past year, so there was no baseline for judging whether it's a growing problem.
CISC is now developing a picture of what is happening outside the cities, he stated, but at the same time admitted, "We don't know what we don't know."
The report also describes the composition of criminal organizations, noting that while cultural ties remained a major influence, group membership was changing to reflect Canada's multicultural society. Many new organizations, CISC found, seem to value criminal skills such as money laundering and income concealment over cultural or ethnic background.
"Around 30 years ago, Canada only had to put up with the Mafia, bikers, and a variety of Chinese triads," commented John Thompson, President of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank.
"We now have representation from every organized crime group in the world and a growing street gang problem in many communities."
Each year, an estimated $22 billion to $55 billion is laundered in Canada, and approximately 170,000 vehicles are stolen across the country, says the report.
Thompson says that estimates show organized crime takes at least $40 billion annually out of the Canadian economy, translating to $1,300 out of each Canadian's pocket.
A 2001 poll conducted by Leger Marketing found that over 80 percent of Canadians think organized crime is a serious or a very serious problem in Canada. About 60 percent of respondents thought Canadian enforcement agencies had insufficient financial and human resources and that Canadian laws were not strict enough to fight organized crime effectively.
Dr. Jana Grekul, a criminology instructor at the University of Alberta, puts less emphasis on Canada's legal system and more blame on the fact that criminal organizations are difficult to "catch" and prosecute since they are "secretive" and "powerful."
As technology develops and the world for "legitimate opportunities" shrinks, said Grekul, the same occurs for "illegitimate opportunities," leading to the "globalization" of organized crime.
"If Canada puts all kinds of resources into fighting organized crime, the groups might move south or across the ocean from us, but that wouldn't stop them from still conducting business that affects Canadians," said Grekul.
Dr. Margaret Beare, Director of the Nathonson Centre for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption at York University, said that it is impossible to completely eliminate organized crime or even significantly reduce it because "it's all part of our society."
The CISC report identifies drug trafficking as the single largest source of illicit earnings for criminal groups, and points to drug users' role in sustaining the problem: "The illicit drug trade in Canada is fed by a consumer demand that will not diminish in the near future."
Canada compares favourably to countries like the U.S. in controlling organized crime activity, Beare stated, but suggested that we should emphasize "demand reduction" rather than just "supply reduction."
"Countries like the Netherlands put more focus on demand reduction, rehabilitation, and treatment, and I think as compared to the option of prisons, certainly that makes much more sense."
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