Newly appointed Fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau on Wednesday promised to "intensify" already ongoing public safety efforts.
Former RCMP Deputy Commissioner Brosseau served as a Mountie for more than 20 years and was a deputy national security and intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Brosseau appeared at his first press conference alongside Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, where he gave a brief introduction before facing questions from reporters.
The border czar said he is joining thousands of men and women in both Canada and the US on an "integrated approach" to secure the Canada-US border, that includes "bringing the teams together, ensuring the collaboration, ensuring the communication is happening ... on both sides of the border in communities across the country."
Brosseau's goal is to get the amount of fentanyl illegally crossing the border "to zero."
"If it's one pound, 10 pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that that possibly could represent," said Brosseau.
"This is a national security and a public safety crisis. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States."
The fentanyl czar was appointed at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is threatening 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods effective in March.
The president has condemned Canada’s weak border security that allows hoards of illegal drugs, chiefly fentanyl, and illegal immigrants to flood into the US.
McGuinty on Tuesday said Brosseau will be working with American counterparts and law enforcement agencies to "accelerate Canada's ongoing work to detect, disrupt and dismantle the fentanyl trade.”
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) specified Brosseau played a key role in "[navigating] Canada's most sensitive security challenges."
"His demonstrated expertise tackling drug trafficking, organized crime networks and other national security threats will bring tremendous value to this position," said the PMO in a press release.
"The scourge of fentanyl must be wiped from the face of the Earth, its production must be shut down and its profiteers must be punished.”
The 25% tariffs were initially set to go into effect February 1, but reprieve was granted when Trudeau promised to appoint a fentanyl czar, among a list of other measures to boost border security.
Canada has promised to spend $1.3 billion over six years on border policing, including deploying 10,000 additional officers and multiple Black Hawk helicopters to the Canada-US border.
Trump meanwhile amplifies rhetoric of his intention to annex Canada as America’s 51st state.