June 27, 2005

Arming The Border

Canada Suggests Armed Agents at Border

- A Canadian Senate report released Wednesday said customs agents should carry weapons like their U.S. counterparts to prevent terror threats, and blasted Ottawa and Washington for not doing more to secure the shared border.

The arming of the Canadian border agents has long been opposed by the government.

A long-awaited report by the Committee on National Security and Defense said Canada and the U.S. have not progressed in tightening their 4,000-mile border.

"Despite what should have been the wake-up call of Sept. 11, 2001, there has been an unsettling lack of progress on both sides of the border to improve efficiency and strengthen security at land border crossings," said the 192-page report.

Testimony before the committee revealed numerous gaps including 139 border crossings where Canadian customs officers work alone; some 62 Canada Border Security Agency offices have no access to the customs database to screen incoming travelers; and several airports that take in international flights have no onsite immigration checks.

Unlike U.S. Border Patrol agents, CBSA officers are unarmed. They are instructed to call the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police or local police departments if threatened, but officers testified that help is often slow in coming.

"The committee has reluctantly come to the conclusion that if the federal government is not willing or able to provide a constant police presence at Canada's border crossings, current border inspectors must be given the option of carrying firearms after successfully completing rigorous training in the use of such firearms," the report said.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, however, strongly opposes an armed border patrol, fearing some incidences would be unnecessarily inflamed if officers were armed.

"I know being at the border can be risky and there are certain dangers," Zaccardelli testified in April before the Special Senate Committee on the Anti-Terrorism Act. "I am strongly against arming people simply to create the notion that we might feel more secure."

Posted by Ithildin at June 27, 2005 10:10 AM | PROCURE FINE OLD WORLD ABSINTHE

It's like Robin Williams' old schtick about (unarmed) British police officers:

"STOP! Or I'll say 'STOP!' again!"

And you've got to wonder about the logic behind RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli's comment that having armed officers might provoke some sort of incident. GOOD GRIEF! Hey, maybe you should stop having them wear uniforms, too.

I'm afraid that it's going to take bin Laden turning NYC into a parking lot to get our elected leaders to actually do their job and start defending our country.

Posted by: docjim505 at June 27, 2005 1:40 PM