Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2012 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Lee Berthiaume

ILLEGAL DRUG EXPORTS OFF BORDER PRIORITY LIST

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 United States 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 frontline 
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 spokeswoman Esme Bailey said the directive reflects the 
government's priorities, but that does not mean border agents will be 
turning a blind eye to outbound drug smuggling.

"While examination personnel should focus their limited resources on 
the three program priorities first this does not exclude their 
obligation to act upon other agency priorities, such as intercepting 
narcotics," she said in an email.

"When examination personnel detect narcotics in their daily 
activities, their obligation to take appropriate action remains the 
same: intercept, seize and arrest if applicable."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom