Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller, right, and Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty speak at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, on Jan. 15.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
The RCMP is set to deploy two Blackhawk military helicopters it has leased from a private company to patrol the U.S.-Canada border, and is mobilizing 60 more drones to help catch people crossing illegally, the force announced Wednesday.
The twin-engine military helicopters, leased from an Ottawa company to supplement the nine helicopters already used by the RCMP to patrol the border, are due to start patrols on Friday, said senior deputy commissioner Bryan Larkin at an Ottawa press conference.
Mr. Larkin said the lease of the Blackhawk helicopters would cost $5.3-million. The RCMP is also investing in surveillance towers, as well as counterdrone surveillance systems, to enhance the work of RCMP border patrols on the ground.
He said the Blackhawks will allow the RCMP to move officers swiftly between provinces, unlike some other helicopters in its existing fleet. “The addition of the two helicopters will give us significant coast to coast to coast coverage,” he said.
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Erin O’Gorman, president of Canada Border Services Agency, said the agency was using money allocated this fiscal year from a six-year, $1.3-billion package announced by the government last month to buy more scanning equipment for use at regular border crossings, including X-ray machines and equipment capable of detecting illegal drugs.
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said at the press conference: “We have deployed 60 new drones along our border with the United States, and we will be deploying additional surveillance towers. We are acquiring new technology such as X-rays, mobile X-rays, and handheld chemical analyzers. As of this week, we are deploying new helicopters at the Canada-U.S. border.”
The reinforcement of Canada’s border follows a threat by president-elect Donald Trump to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all imports from Canada unless the country does more to stop drug smuggling and illegal immigrants.
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Less than 1 per cent of fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. comes from Canada, Mr. McGuinty pointed out.
He said Canada is not “interested in drama” when it comes to approaching border issues, and is interested in collaborating with the U.S. “We’re just going to keep moving forward. We are hopeful and remain hopeful that the incoming administration will understand just how incredibly serious we are.”
He said he is planning to meet Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s choice for border czar, and to invite him to come fishing in Canada. “He loves to fish,” he said.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that a tightening by his department of immigration rules, including restrictions on visitor visas and study permits, led to an 89-per-cent decrease from June to December last year of people apprehended crossing the border illegally.
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Mr. Miller confirmed that Canada signed an agreement in the summer with the U.S. to allow the sharing of information on permanent residents hoping to move south of the border, in addition to visa holders, to help both countries screen immigrants.
Asked if sharing personal information about Canadian residents with the U.S. authorities poses privacy concerns, he said there were safeguards in place in the agreement to protect personal privacy.
“Adding to our existing processes of sharing relevant data on foreign nationals applying to immigrate to either country, we’ve extended our information-sharing agreement with the Americans, and will now share immigration-related information on non-permanent residents in both Canada and the U.S.,” he said.
Mr. McGuinty said the proroguing of Parliament, which has halted proceedings in the House of Commons and Senate, would not affect the implementation of the six year $1.3-billion border package. He said he was planning to speak to Conservative and NDP public-safety critics about co-operating across party lines on measures to reinforce the border.
But Mr. Miller said he had hoped to introduce changes, which would require legislation, to further bolster the integrity of the asylum system. They have now been put on hold because of the prorogation.