The Million-Dollar Question

Money Laundering & Real Estate

Mayor Chow:

Today in this clip you said you didn't know why higher levels of government won't pay up for Toronto: 

But isn't the answer simply that by funding housing in Toronto, the real-estate bubble would burst, and investors would lose 50% or more, and these investors have more friends in higher levels of government?

(And isn't the greenbelt scandal just an example of this collusion between policymakers and land investors at higher levels of government?)

I've also heard that the investors are often engaged in money-laundering, in some cases to get money out of CCP-controlled China -- here are three media pieces I found quickly:

 Money laundering ring tied to Vancouver real estate alleged by police group - Real Estate | Business in Vancouver (biv.com)

How real estate is being used to launder billions of dollars in Canada | Your Morning - YouTube

Drug and money laundering investigation 'Operation Mad Money' has links to GTA real estate, documents show | CTV News

Have you discussed this with local police?  A mere vacancy tax will operate more slowly than some police investigations might be able to...

I've also heard it said that only Jessica Bell is willing to use the phrase "Money Laundering" in this collective discourse, why is that?  Is that because some parties are afraid of bringing the possibility of criminal charges into the housing crisis equation?

It may be possible to authorize police to investigate 'vacancy' in general if there is an active investigation into money-laundering rings...

Cheers,
Adam Golding
--
adamgolding.ca