U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump's threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods is bolstering Delta’s long-standing cry to have some kind of law enforcement at Canada’s ports.
“I’ve got to thank him. It has recharged the subject and it needs to be,” Mayor George Harvie told the Optimist this week.
Harvie and city council have repeatedly called for re-establishing the port police after the Ports Canada Police was disbanded in 1997.
Trump threatened earlier this week to impose an across-the-board tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports unless action was taken to stem the cross-border flow of migrants and illegal drugs.
Fentanyl, the deadly street drug which is killing thousands, is both being exported and imported from this country and precursors to make the drugs are coming in from around the world, Harvie said.
“We are also known as the country that is a toxic drug producer. And to me, that’s shameful on the federal government,” Harvie said. “This country needs to get its act together, insofar as national security, and ensuring that we’re not allowing these drugs to come in unchecked.”
He credited the Canadian Border Services Agency for doing what it can but is concerned about the effects of recent budget cuts from the federal government.
The judicial system is also another concern for Harvie, pointing to a recent major drug bust in Surrey in which three suspects were arrested and then released.
It’s an open invitation to those in the drug trade to set up here, he added.
Provincial politicians were also vocal.
Premier David Eby said in a speech to the BC Federation of Labour Tuesday that his government has “called repeatedly, for example, for port police to ensure what comes into B.C. is not contraband, is not illicit drugs or precursor chemicals.”
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad said the B.C. legislature should be recalled in order to authorize funding to secure the borders.
The B.C. Conservatives also called for some kind of port police, whether through a dedicated force, more resources for Delta police or RCMP, during October’s provincial election, with Rustad also praising Delta’s resolution at UBCM in September calling for a levy on every container entering the country, which would pay for port police.
Harvie said Delta has received “great support” from the premier on the issue.
However, the mayor pointed out that the port is federal property and, under federal jurisdiction, is the federal government’s responsibility. Port police has to be a separate entity that can cover all aspects of the drug trade and still be active on the ground.
It’s complicated but something needs to be done, Harvie said, adding he’s heard nothing from the senior government.
Setting up an agency is not about escaping tariffs but about saving lives caused by making drugs here or importing them, he added.
Four years ago, the city also put forward a motion at UBCM asking that the provincial and federal governments re-establish a port policing or equivalent agency.
A City of Delta report by Peter German and Associates in 2023 also stressed port policing is needed.
– with files from CP
