Honourable senators, my question for the Government Leader today is one that I had hoped to ask Minister Morneau on Tuesday. It concerns money laundering.

Last week, an organization which the minister formerly chaired, the C.D. Howe Institute, published a report which looked at the prevalence of money laundering in Canada.

It recommended that Canada tighten its beneficial ownership regime by creating a public registry of corporations, business trust and real estate, requiring mandatory beneficial ownership declarations and enforcing sanctions on false declarations.

I listened to the minister’s answers to Senator Day and Senator Joyal on this point, but the minister did not actually say what he thought of the national ownership registry other than saying we have to work with the provinces. Leader, could you please ask his office for a written response concerning a national registry?

As the government leader knows, the subject matter of Bill C-97 is currently before the Senate. As I understand, the bill amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. I note that it does not introduce meaningful changes to the beneficiary regime as part of the amendments in Bill C-97, changes that provinces could have used as a starting point for their own regulatory regime around beneficial ownership. Leader, when making inquiries to the minister, could you ask him to explain why his department has not taken a leadership role in this respect?