US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1910

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001910 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN, INL, WHA/MEX (EMRICH) 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL 
 
DHS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (Marmaud) 
 
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (Bonner) 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ELTN, ASEC, PBTS, CA, Border Patrol 
SUBJECT:  Canadian Border Patrol idea gains support from Senate 
and Mayor's Association 
 
Ref:      A) Ottawa 1780 
     B) Ottawa 0940 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED--PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  The National Security and Defence 
Committee of the Senate of Canada suggests that a Canadian 
Border Patrol might be necessary.  The committee also 
supports arming all Customs Officers at ports of entry.  The 
backing of this Senate committee provides a high visibility 
boost to the effort of the Customs Officers' Union to 
enhance their law enforcement role. This committee has a 
reputation with the GoC of sometimes being a Cassandra, 
however, so whether this will translate into anything more 
than a few favorable newspaper headlines is debatable.  On 
the other hand, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 
(FCM), a powerful and influential lobby group, has 
unanimously endorsed the Border Patrol idea; the support of 
this group may be an indicator that the political tide is 
shifting toward greater resources for border law 
enforcement.  End summary. 
 
2. (U) The Senate Committee on National Security and Defence 
suggests in its report ""Borderline Insecure" released on 
June 15, that, among other things, a Canadian Border Patrol 
might be necessary.  The report contains 26 recommendations 
that address a broad array of issues, including:  the need 
for more urgency on both sides of the border in providing 
new border crossing infrastructure; a recommendation that 
the government move away from its current priority of 
collecting duties and revenues at border crossings and shift 
the emphasis to security; and that inspectors at ports of 
entry should carry side-arms.  The Senate report is 
available at:  www.senate-senat.ca/border.asp. 
 
3. (U) The enhanced law enforcement role that the Customs 
and Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA, which represents 
5000 frontline and analyst Customs Officers) is seeking is 
supported by the committee recommendation that the 
government move away from its current priority of collecting 
duties and revenues at border crossings and shift the 
emphasis to security.  The report contends that forcing 
border officers to collect relatively minor revenues 
severely weakens their capacity to prevent unwanted persons 
or contraband from entering Canada.  The committee's 
recommendation to increase personal exemptions for travelers 
(to C$2000 for more a visit of more than 24 hours) would 
help remove this distraction from security. 
 
 
4. (U) The CEUDA effort is also supported by the fact that 
the committee also "reluctantly came to the conclusion" that 
inspectors at ports of entry should carry side-arms due to 
the lack of permanent police presence.  The committee noted 
that testimony at committee hearings in recent months has 
revealed that police protective backup at ports of entry, 
which in some cases is supposed to be supplied by the RCMP 
and in others by local police forces, has often been slow or 
non-existent (Refs A and B). 
 
5. (U) Finally, the committee noted the encouraging work 
being done by the multi-agency, bi-national Integrated 
Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) in 15 regions along the 
Canada-U.S. land border.  However, the committee noted that 
the government has yet to disclose any systematic 
measurements that demonstrate that IBETs have succeeded in 
reducing border threats, and the committee is not yet 
convinced that IBETs, in themselves, provide enough security 
between crossings.  As a consequence, they have posed the 
question of whether there is a need for a border patrol in 
addition to the IBETS, and, if so, who should undertake it? 
Although not an explicit recommendation to form a Canadian 
Border Patrol, the committee clearly expects to delve into 
this specific question more thoroughly in the future. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: The backing of this Senate committee 
provides a high profile boost to the visibility of the 
Customs Officers' Union effort to bolster its law 
enforcement role; meanwhile, the government insists that the 
RCMP effort along the border is sufficient and a greater law 
enforcement role for Customs Officers is not necessary (Refs 
A and B).  Whether the committee support will translate into 
anything more than a few favorable newspaper headlines is 
debatable.  The committee is well-known for supporting a 
much more vigorous Canadian defense and law enforcement 
stance for Canada, and its frequent reports have sometimes 
resulted in significant changes to GoC policy.  For example, 
the committee's work in 2002 helped lay the groundwork for 
Canada's 2004 National Security Strategy, the first-ever 
statement of national security policy.  Sometimes, however, 
the reports are seen by policy-makers as offering Cassandra- 
like "doom is upon us" warnings that have made a media 
splash for a day or two and then are ignored by the 
government.  End Comment. 
 
7. (SBU) More significant perhaps than the support for the 
CEUDA position found in the Senate committee's report is the 
fact that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (the FCM 
is akin to the United States' Conference of Mayors) fully 
supports creation of a Canadian Border Patrol.  The FCM 
unanimously adopted a motion in April 2005 asking the 
government to "give to the Canadian Border Services Agency 
the first-response mandate to patrol the border between 
points of entry."  The RCMP and other police forces "would 
act as the second-response partner along the border at and 
between points of entry; first-response mandate must be 
delivered by way of a border patrol." 
 
8. (SBU) Comment: The FCM is a well-established, well- 
connected, and well-regarded lobby group that has racked up 
some impressive recent wins; in the federal budget in 
February 2005 it secured a commitment by the GoC to provide 
C$5 billion in fuel-tax revenue directly to cities over the 
next five years.  The support of this group may be an 
indicator that the political tide, at the all-important 
local level, is shifting to support greater resources for 
border law enforcement. End comment. 
 
Roddy