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Liberal MLA Rich Coleman, who was solicitor general with responsibility for gambling, said he was confident his government had done nothing wrong. “I am quite happy with an inquiry. It will finally get past some of this innuendo and accusation, and let’s get down to some facts,” said Coleman.

But both Coleman and Michael Lee, the Liberal’s attorney general critic, said it was “premature” to decide whether they would waive cabinet confidentiality on documents relevant to the inquiry.

Eby said he received an offer of support for the inquiry from federal minister Bill Blair, while Horgan said he’s received assurances from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the federal government would co-operate.

In a written statement, Blair, the minister of border security and organized crime reduction, said: “I have informed Attorney General Eby that our government will cooperate with the province of British Columbia and continue to work collaboratively … on intelligence gathering and information sharing.”

Federal officials, including RCMP officers, have testified at previous B.C. public inquiries, including the $9.8-million missing women inquiry and the $5.3-million inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.

Eby noted that some individuals have refused to participate in the German and Maloney reviews, including some luxury car resellers. “We are done with asking nicely,” he said.

Cullen will be given the power to apply for court orders to enter private property and seize records. Anyone who does not co-operate could be found in contempt of court, said Eby.

Cullen worked as a Crown prosecutor in B.C. from 1976 to 1980, and again from 1984 to 1999, before he became assistant deputy attorney general for the criminal justice branch. Eby said that branch is politically independent and Cullen is still appropriate to investigate government activity during that time. Cullen was appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court in 2001.

The inquiry terms of reference require Cullen to forward any information to the appropriate agencies if he believes that any evidence points to criminal offences, while specifying that the inquiry is not to jeopardize any continuing criminal investigation.

Money laundering has been under the spotlight in B.C., a result of revelations uncovered in a Postmedia investigation in 2017 that found potentially millions of dollars were being laundered through Lower Mainland casinos.

A separate Postmedia investigation, published in February, found that money-laundering prosecutions were rare and difficult in B.C.

Multiple police investigations with ties to money laundering since 2015 had resulted in at least 17 arrests, but no charges.

rshaw@postmedia.com

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ghoekstra@postmedia.com

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