PUBLICATION:
National Post
DATE:
2004.11.06
EDITION:
All but Toronto
SECTION:
Canada
PAGE:
A4
BYLINE:
Brian Hutchinson
SOURCE:
National Post
ILLUSTRATION:
Black & White Photo:
Mike Blake, Reuters /VANCOUVER/WASHINGTON BORDER: 92 of Canada's 147 land border
crossings are staffed by a single officer.; Map: National Post / A map showing
the location of Roosville, B.C.: (See print copy for complete map.)
NOTE:
bhutchinson@nationalpost.com
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Lone
officer guards most borders: 103 'work-alone sites': 'No one can believe it when
I tell them we work unarmed and alone'
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The
majority of Canada's 160 border crossings are patrolled by ill-equipped customs
officers who are forced to work alone, without reliable communications devices
and quick access to emergency support, warns an internal "risk
evaluation" memo prepared by the Canada Border Services Agency.
The
30-page internal memo reveals that 92 of the nation's 147 land border crossings,
and 11 of 13 border marinas, are classified as "work-alone sites" by
the CBSA, the federal agency in charge of protecting the nation's borders.
Custom
agents say a severe staffing shortage has created a dangerous situation, one
that contributed to the death of a customs officer working alone at a remote
border crossing three weeks ago.
On
Oct. 17, border agent Adam Angel was discovered lying in a pool of his own blood
and vomit at a "work-alone" crossing in Roosville, B.C., an isolated
community about 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary, on the Montana border.
Mr.
Angel had been nearing the end of a solo graveyard shift at the Roosville
crossing. Just before 7 a.m., three co-workers arrived for work and found him
lying face down in his booth. Mr. Angel died on his way to hospital.
While
there was no sign of foul play at the scene, the cause of his death is unknown;
a coroner's report is still pending. It is believed that Mr. Angel suffered
either a heart attack or brain aneurysm.
The
tragedy could have been prevented, his colleagues say, had Mr. Angel been
working with another customs agent.
"Adam
was put in a dangerous position. It is completely unacceptable that he is dead
because he was working alone," said a veteran customs agent based in
Roosville. "If there was someone working with him, he might still be alive
today, and his pregnant wife might still have a husband. We're all traumatized
by it. We've been saying for years that someone is going to have a medical
emergency or get into a violent confrontation at a border crossing. Now it has
happened."
The
tiny B.C. border crossing is among many that are vulnerable to foreign criminals
and terrorists, said the Roosville agent. Fearing reprisal from his superiors,
he refused to be identified.
Most
of the work-alone border crossings are in quiet, remote areas, far from police
and medical services. Almost 70% of the work-alone sites experience
"technical difficulties with their communications tools [e.g. radios not
working properly, old equipment, poor cellular reception, dead zones due to
geography]," the CBSA report notes.
Personal
protection is also an issue. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, Canadian customs
inspectors are not issued firearms. Instead, they carry only pepper spray and
batons and wear bulletproof vests.
Canadian
border agents working solo are instructed to "withdraw when they feel
danger" from "unfavourable clients," according to the CBSA
report. "It's a ridiculous
situation," said the Roosville border officer. "No one can believe it
when I tell them that we work in the middle of the mountains, late at night,
unarmed and alone.
"We
can't stop someone if they want to drive across [the border]. I'd say that 60%
of the time, people can drive straight through our ports. I've seen it happen.
And even if we can get a call out to the RCMP, they are also understaffed. It
takes them 45 minutes to respond and sometimes they can't respond at all. It's
not safe, it's not in the interests of national security, and it has to
end."
B.C.
Conservative MP Jim Abbott obtained a copy of the internal CBSA report yesterday
and shared copies of it with reporters. The Roosville border crossing sits in
his federal riding. "I've been hearing from a lot of people in my
constituency since Mr. Angel's death," said Mr. Abbott. "Obviously,
the Liberal government only pays lip service to the security of our
country."
CBSA
officials would not discuss specific details contained in the five-month-old
report, such as the location of those border crossings with a risk rating
identified as "high." CBSA spokesman Chris Kealey said only that the
agency "is very concerned that a document with this kind of information is
floating around and could be made public. It is a work in progress, not a final
document."
Among
the report's 21 recommendations is that a "formal memorandum of
understanding be negotiated with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency,
to allow for reciprocal provision of incident management, including the
provision of first aid."
"We're
already supposed to ask the Americans to help us, when we can't help
ourselves," said one customs officer. "But that didn't help Adam
Angel, did it?"
The
Roosville border station is now staffed with at least two officers at all times.
According to Customs and Excise Union executive Steve Pellerin-Fowlie, this is
merely a "temporary" solution that won't last past Christmas.
"We
need more resources and more protection," said Mr. Pellerin-Fowlie, adding
that his union's 4,000 customs officers have been working without a contract for
months and are now in a legal strike position.
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FIREARM
FOLLIES: LIBERAL REPORT STILL HIDING FUTURE COST OF THE GUN REGISTRY
By
Garry Breitkreuz, MP – October 28, 2004 - Official Opposition Critic on
Firearms Legislation http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns129.htm
FIREARM
FOLLIES #2: LIBERAL REPORT FABRICATES FIREARM PROGRAM BENEFITS
By
Garry Breitkreuz, MP – November 1, 2004 - Official Opposition Critic on
Firearms Legislation http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns130.htm