The RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says that a federal movement to list the organized crime posters, since the terrorist entities to combat the traffic of fentanil would give the Mounties more tools to present charges and enforce the law.
In an interview on Thursday, Duheme also said that he sees value in the government's plan to appoint a National Fentanyl Tsar, since he would allow a single point to see a general image of the manufacture and distribution of the dangerous drug.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose rigid tariffs against Canada, citing the flow to the south of migrants and drugs, including fentanyl.
The statistics of the United States border patrol show that less than one percent of the seized fentanyl is located on the northern border.
Trump has agreed for a month pause on the rates, while the United States evaluates whether Canada's recent actions meet their demands.
The Federal Government announced a plan of $ 1.3 billion in December to reinforce security and surveillance at the border with Canada-United States. He announced additional plans this week for a fentanyl tsar, a new ability to gather intelligence on transnational organized crime and a movement to enumerate drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
The listing process begins with intelligence reports indicating whether an organization has been carried out knowingly, tried to carry out, participated or facilitated a terrorist activity.
If the Minister of Public Security believes that the threshold has been fulfilled, the minister may recommend to the federal cabinet that the organization is added to the list. The list is published if the cabinet agrees with the recommendation.
A group listed is not prohibited and being on the list is not a crime, but the designation effectively freezes assets and the property of a listing group, which are also subject to seizures or seizures.
“It is an additional tool for the application of the law when we look charges,” said Duheme.
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The term “cartel” could conjure notions of drug traffickers conspired in Latin American countries.
Duheme said a poster can be defined as a group of independent market participants who collide and agree not to compete with each other.
“I could use the term poster for any group of organized crimes,” he said. “Because they divide the territory, they want to make sure the market price is the same.”
The grass wars occur only when “people are too hungry” and want to expand their territory, he said.
“I think there are many motorcycle gangs outside the law that can also be described as posters,” he added.
A recent report from the Canada Criminal Intelligence Service said that organized crimes groups involved in the manufacture of fentanyl operate mainly in British and Ontario Columbia. Beyond those provinces, crime groups participate in distribution and traffic, and trust more and more in street gangs and prohibited motorcycle gangs, according to the report.
On Thursday, the Minister of Public Security was asked Thursday, on Thursday if the planned terrorist listings could include motorcycle gangs outside the law.
“We will have more to say about that listing process and who is on that list in due time,” he said.
Duheme also indicated that the private council office was still working to define the role of Fentanyl Tsar.
But he suggested that the ZAR would collect information from the RCMP and other agencies to provide the prime minister and the cabinet a general sensation of “everything that is happening in Canada when it comes to fentanyl.”
McGuinty said Thursday that the terms of reference for the new position would end soon.
“The role of Fentanilo Tsar will be to help us integrate what is a challenge of the entire stage,” he said.
“Fentanyl is a problem of foreign affairs. It is a problem of application of the law. It is an intelligence problem. It is a public health problem. It is a tracking problem in terms of the ingredients that end up used in fentanyl production, precursors. “
The Federal Border Security Plan announced in December included an air intelligence work group for the surveillance of the Canada border, using helicopters, drones and surveillance towers.
Canada also proposed to the United States to create a “joint attack force” from North America to attack groups of organized crimes that work through borders.
Duheme said the RCMP plans to lease two Black Hawk helicopters next year to complement the couple that began to patrol the border last month.
He said that the Canadian component of the joint attack force would imply five teams of RCMP officers and others throughout the country to focus solely on fentanyl, “from distributors to laboratories and the flow of precursors.”
The attack force will also involve teams in the United States that collaborate with their Canadian counterparts, Duheme said.
Although the amount of fentanyl that comes from Canada is relatively small, and the number of migrants to the south detained by the border patrol of the United States has decreased significantly, McGuinty said that the concerns of the United States should be taken seriously.
“I think we should listen carefully to everything that comes from the White House and act accordingly,” he said. “But what we are really focused on at this time is public safety.”
McGuinty said he reminded US officials that illicit drugs also travel north.
“This is a two -way street,” he said. “The fentanyl crisis is particularly atrocious because fentanyl is so lethal: it is lethal in Canada and is lethal in the United States.”
“With a Nick Murray file
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