Donald Trump’s tariff threats renew calls for dedicated port police in B.C.

By Alex Lazenby
The Vancouver Sun
November 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Premier David Eby said the province has been pushing for Ottawa to re-start the Ports Canada Police, which was disbanded in 1997. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority also ended its funding for the Waterfront Joint Forces Operation team of the RCMP in 2015. “We have called repeatedly for port police to ensure what comes into British Columbia is not contraband,” said Eby. …The call was echoed by B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad, who is urging Eby to immediately recall the legislature to push through provincial funding for a dedicated port police unit and then send Ottawa the bill. Rustad said local police departments and RCMP detachments simply don’t have the capacity or resources to deal with the sheer volume and variety of goods that come into B.C. via shipping containers. …A 2019 report found only one per cent of the shipping containers at the port in Delta were being checked.

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