CLOSING DETACHMENTS A BAD MOVE: FORMER MP

A plan to close several RCMP border detachments in Quebec risks helping
marijuana grow operations lining the Canada-U.S border flourish, former
Liberal MP David Price warned yesterday.

"I think they will increase now," said Price, former MP for
Compton-Stanstead who specialized in defence and security issues in
Parliament. "They've got a much more open window there. They know here's
one whole RCMP pole that won't be watching what they are doing."

Price's comments come in the wake of Thursday's tragedy that saw four RCMP
officers killed in the line of duty following a raid on a marijuana growing
operation in Alberta. They also come in the wake of an announcement by the
RCMP that it is closing several small border detachments in order to
concentrate its efforts on investigations.

At times, U.S. authorities are more aware of grow operations on Canadian
soil than are Canadian authorities, Price said.

"The Border Patrol on the other side is looking across. They see these
operations. They see these grows because let's face it, they've got
cameras, they've got overhead. They know what is going on. They used to be
able to say to the RCMP we know there's a thing over there. Let's get
together on this and stop it because it's coming across the border."

Price doesn't buy the argument the Surete du Quebec can fill the void left
by the RCMP.

"They've just taken over the municipal policing in all of those areas. They
are stretched now. They are having a wicked time of it."

Nor does the SQ have close ties to the U.S. border patrol, he said.

"The Border Patrol don't really talk to the SQ. They talk to the RCMP,
that's a national police force."

Price said he supports decriminalizing marijuana, but says any move to
legalize it could cause problems for border communities. Instead of having
to deal with the problems caused by teenagers who can legally drink in
Quebec but not in their home states, they could be faced with young people
crossing the border in search of marijuana.