Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Lee Berthiaume

BORDER GUARDS TOLD TO FORGET ABOUT DRUG EXPORTS; LOOK FOR NUCLEAR MATERIAL

OTTAWA - Due to a lack of resources, Canadian border agents have been 
told to stop looking for illegal drugs leaving the country and 
instead focus on stopping the export of illicit nuclear material and 
stolen cars.

The directive, contained in an internal memo to Canada Border 
Services Agency managers that was obtained by Postmedia News, is 
unlikely to make officials in the U.S. and other countries very happy.

But analysts say that in an age of finite resources, the agency has 
decided it makes more sense to target areas where it thinks it can 
make a difference.

"It takes enormous resources to catch smuggled drugs," said Eugene 
Oscapella, a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.

"You're looking for a needle in a haystack, or probably something 
smaller than that. And maybe this is just a nod to reality that 
they're saying they can better spend their resources elsewhere."

The Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, represents the front line 
government organization for managing the flow of goods to and from 
the country. This includes an export program charged with preventing 
prohibited or illegal items from being smuggled to other countries.

At the end of June, regional CBSA managers across Canada received a 
memo that told them they were to focus on three priorities, namely 
stopping the export of illicit nuclear material and stolen vehicles, 
and enforcing other departments' export bans.

This last category includes the smuggling of endangered species, 
hazardous waste and electronic waste.

"The success of the Export Program in all modes and all regions will 
be based on the performance of the regions to meet those priorities," 
reads the memo.

But the memo goes on to say that because of "the limited number of 
resources available for export examinations, other commodities, 
including outbound smuggling of narcotics, unless there is an 
intelligence outlook, should not be undertaken."

CBSA did not respond to questions on Thursday, but it has previously 
said it works with domestic and international partners to ensure 
prohibited goods do not leave the country.

Darryl Plecas, an expert on crime and policing at the University of 
the Fraser Valley, said responsibility for stopping the smuggling of 
drugs would generally lie with police forces, and it's unclear how 
many successful interdictions CBSA has undertaken.

But he lamented the message being sent to Canadian border agents.

"It's always disappointing to hear that they're not able to do this 
or that because of limited resources," he said, "because that's 
leaving things on the table. What that memo is saying is they don't 
have the capacity to respond."

Oscapella said U.S. officials will be unhappy with the policy.

"One of the criticisms of the United States was that we weren't doing 
enough to stop the flow the drugs into their country," he said.

The export program has historically faced limited resources; an 
internal CBSA evaluation in November 2008 found that "export programs 
have been operating at a minimum level" due to personnel and 
budgetary constraints.

"Staff interviewed for this evaluation also acknowledged the 
challenges associated with an under-funded program," the report 
reads, "and that they are all 'doing the best they can with what they have.' "

An internal report prepared last October shows those problems have continued.

It said there are about 53 CBSA staff dedicated to export control - a 
number the agency described as "very limited." They are responsible 
for targeting and examining an "overwhelming" 8,000 to 10,000 export 
shipments per day.

As a result, border agents have failed to stop some shipments 
intended for Iran's surreptitious nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the union representing Canada's border agents has been 
warning about the impact the government's plan to slash 1,300 
positions and more than $143 million from the agency's budget over 
the next three years will have on services.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom