I would like to
respond to the recent story in the media regarding the
grand opening of the RCMP headquarters on Tollgate Road in Cornwall. Cornwall is a small city in Ontario on the St. Lawrence River, and is on the Canadian/US border. When I see an event like this with all the
dignitaries and the politicians present, I like to find out if there’s a hidden
agenda. Often there is one.
Without any explanation it was reported that among the policing partners at the new RCMP headquarters would be the New York State Police force?
I have lived in
Cornwall for almost 60 years and I can’t remember any police forces from the
United States housed here and given the same policing powers as Canadian
officers. I know that in a ‘state of emergency’ Canada and the United States
would support one another and cross the border, but in this case we are taking
about a permanent change in policy. What’s the explanation?
Here’s an excerpt
from Section 11 of Bill C-60:
In the course of an integrated
cross-border operation, every designated officer is a peace officer in every part of Canada and has
the same power to enforce an Act of Parliament as a member of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
So, if a New York State Police officer were declared to be a designated
officer under this act, then this officer would have the same power of
arrest and enforcement as an RCMP officer. Under the umbrella of cross
border operations American police officers would acquire the same
policing powers as their Canadian counterparts.
To whom would the American police be accountable? How would complaints against American police
on Canadian soil be addressed? Would American police testify in Canadian courts
and would Canadian courts have jurisdiction over American police officers in
the case of negligence?
It is fine for RCMP Commissioner William Elliot to say that the New
York State police are ‘partners’ but Bill C-60 goes much further. It proposes a
merging of Canadian and American police forces and every Canadian should be
opposed to that.
This is the beginning of the slippery slope, the sacrifice of Canadian
sovereignty and the ‘harmonization’ of police forces to form what will
eventually become a North American Union as I have written about extensively on this site.
Unfortunately, Public Safety Minister Van Loan never made it to
Cornwall for the RCMP Official Opening. Maybe he will make the claim that he is
working on a strategy for the disastrous situation at the Canadian border. He
has yet to appear in Cornwall and he continues to evade all of the stakeholders
who want a solution to this unprecedented lack of leadership by the
Conservative government.
Ironically, it was Van Loan along with the justice minister who tabled
Bill C-60 on November 27, 2009. I guess
that was another reason that Van Loan preferred to avoid Cornwall and the
inevitable questions from community leaders. The Conservative government is
anything but transparent these days.
I believe that joint operations of international police forces are a
necessary component of border security however I would strongly urge all
citizens to oppose the extension of policing powers to American police forces
on Canadian soil. We would be committing
a terrible mistake if we Americanize our police and our justice system.
MP Guy Lauzon is always asking for feedback. Now is the time to tell
him your opinion on Bill C-60. We must ask him to vote against this bill when
it comes up for 1st reading.
