Bob Mackin
The final report on the Cullen Commission on money laundering in B.C. has been delayed again.
Justice Austin Cullen asked for and received another extension. The report was due to be submitted the BC NDP cabinet on May 20, but the new deadline is June 3. A date for the public release is to be announced.
Justice Austin Cullen (left) and commission counsel Brock Martland (Mackin)
Several commission staff members, but not Cullen himself, have recently been ill with COVID-19. The commission refused to say how many had tested positive, but a majority of the team works from home.
The public inquiry was announced by Premier John Horgan, Attorney General David Eby and Finance Minister Carole James in May 2019 with a deadline of May 2021.
The pandemic meant in-person hearings were moved online. The fall 2020 snap election also delayed testimony. In March 2021, the commission got an extension to Dec. 15, 2021. Late last November, Cullen got another extension to May 20, 2022.
Lawyers for participants gave their final statements last October.
The commission heard testimony from 198 witnesses over 138 days and received 1,063 exhibits totalling more than 70,000 pages.
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