LIKENING THE CANADA-U.S. BORDER TO ‘SWISS CHEESE,’ THE HEAD OF THE UNION REPRESENTING CBSA OFFICERS HAS CALLED FOR THE CREATION OF A BORDER PATROL.
Likens frontier along U.S. to ‘Swiss cheese’
Ottawa needs to create a special force to patrol the vast frontier between Canada and the U.S. because the RCMP is stretched too thin, says the head of the union representing the nation’s border officers.
Comparing the unmanned border to “Swiss cheese,” Jean-Pierre Fortin said in an interview he would like to see the creation of a 300-person mobile patrol force led by the Canada Border Services Agency — a model that wouldn’t be all that different from the way Americans patrol the U.S.-Mexican border.
The appeal comes at a time when the nation has seen a rise in “irregular” border crossings from asylumseekers who are bypassing designated ports of entry and coming into Canada along unguarded roads, fields and railroad tracks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tough stance on immigration is believed to be driving the influx.
Fortin, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, says a dedicated border patrol force is needed to deal not only with the rise of refugee claimants coming across the border illegally but also drug and weapon smugglers and so-called “port runners” — people who drive through a port of entry without stopping.
“That’s where the big frustration from our members is coming from,” Fortin said. “(The RCMP) are not there very often because they’ve got other stuff to do.”
So far the government doesn’t seem interested in the idea. The responsibility to patrol the parts of the 8,900-kilometre border between ports of entry has fallen to the RCMP since 1932 and was reaffirmed in 2008, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in an email.
“The RCMP is responsible for enforcing the law between ports of entry. The CBSA is responsible for determining admissibility at ports of entry,” Scott Bardsley said.
“At the moment, they are sufficiently staffed to handle the volume. Should more resources be required, they will let us know.”
Giving border officers new powers to patrol would require a massive policy change and extensive training, said a former senior CBSA official. Even though border officers are trained and authorized to carry firearms, they do receive not the same training as police officer, said the former official who requested anonymity.
“Imagine a scenario at a port of entry where CBSA officers suddenly jump in a car and chase someone … across fields and through small towns, cornering them in a gunfight,” said the former official. “The organization is not mandated to have those authorities.”
However, with heightened attention over illegal crossings, it may not be a bad idea for the government to reevaluate how the border is managed, the former official said.
During a briefing for the media in Ottawa Thursday, public safety and immigration officials said Mounties intercepted more than 400 asylum-seekers — mostly from Africa and the Middle East — who crossed the border illegally from Feb. 1 to Feb. 21, including 290 in Quebec, 94 in Manitoba and 51 in B.C.
None has been charged with a criminal offence and the majority were deemed eligible to make a refugee claim after undergoing security checks, the officials said. It is still up to the Immigration and Refugee Board to assess their claims.
One official said it would be “speculative” to say whether the spring season will bring more illegal border crossings.
Fortin is convinced the numbers will rise with the warm weather. “I guarantee you it’ll keep climbing,” he said.
One border officer who works in Lacolle, Que., said staff are already feeling overwhelmed.
“The officers are getting tired. It’s been like this for quite some time due to lack of personnel," the officer, who asked not to be identified, told the National Post.
Just this past weekend, RCMP brought in more than 100 asylum-seekers over the course of one evening, the officer said. “They were ... going through every hour.”
While most people crossing the border in places such as Lacolle and Emerson, Man., are seeking a better life and not putting up a fuss when they encounter authorities, Fortin says he worries about a certain percentage of people — he could not offer an estimate — who are sneaking in using less visible routes and not reporting to authorities because they have “bad intentions.”
“Once they’re in the country, good luck to try to find them,” he said.
Fortin noted there are hundreds of unguarded roads leading from the U.S. into Canada — more than 100 in Quebec alone — that are popular corridors for smuggling drugs and guns.
“We’re like Swiss cheese right now. It’s not a big secret that there is contraband going (through).”
THE OFFICERS ARE GETTING TIRED.