Public Safety Minister (and now Finance Minister) Dominic LeBlanc has released the Trudeau Liberals’ $1.3 billion border security plan to tackle drug, gun and human trafficking. The plan includes advancing “technology, tools and human resources,” and will expand the function of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). It follows increasing pressure from incoming US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico until America’s neighbours dealt with their drug and illegal immigration crises. .Freeland, LeBlanc insist Canada’s border is secure, despite Trump’s allegations and 25% tariffs .The CBSA will “deploy new chemical detection imaging and artificial intelligence tools” and “investigative capacity to be able to use law enforcement in determining the source of the drugs,” said LeBlanc.The spending also includes a “new aerial intelligence task force comprised of helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance powers” to be deployed by the RCMP.“This new task force will provide round the clock surveillance between ports of entry and complement existing foot and vehicle patrols.”When asked about the timeline, Micheal Dume, RCMP commissioner said, it will “reman flexible.”“I can’t just buy a helicopter tomorrow, but we can rent a helicopter,” he said."As quickly as possible," jumped in Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who was also present at the conference."Hey, did you notice the immigration minister and I are wearing the same uniform?" said LeBlanc, attempting to make a joke about their similar suits and distract from the question. .WATCH: Freeland and incoming US border czar have very different views on security.CBSA’s mandate will now “allow border officers to investigate exports the same way they do imports… enabling a crack down on the domestic production and export of illegal drugs like fentanyl,” said LeBlanc.LeBlanc said he and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly spoke with their American counterparts in a conversation that “we thought was encouraging.”The CBSA and the RCMP will interact “literally daily,” LeBlanc told reporters, in addition to “ongoing daily interactions with their American law enforcement partners.”“That operational cooperation is incredibly important, and we're always looking at ways to deepen that collaboration.”“That was the essence of my preliminary conversation with Tom Homan, the incoming border czar in the Trump administration.”Homan recently said the Canadian border is worse for terrorism than the Mexican border..Miller responds to incoming US border czar’s remarks on Canada’s border vulnerability .“We discussed the importance of strengthening and deepening that operational collaboration. It's good for the taxpayers in the two countries, but it's also good for the public security of both countries as well,” said LeBlanc.The Trudeau Liberals plan to “propose to American partners the creation of a new North American Joint Strike Force to target transnational organized crime.”“This new joint strike force could include, for example, support in operational searches, dedicated synthetic drug units, expanded combined forces, special enforcement units by National Integrated border enforcement teams and new technical operations capacity and related infrastructure,” said LeBlanc.
