U.S. BORDER PATROLS WON'T OPERATE OVER CANADA

LOWER MAINLAND - The RCMP said Wednesday that a new U.S. air and
marine border protection unit based in Bellingham will not have
authority to conduct surveillance in Canada.

An American official with Air and Marine Operations said earlier this
week that the new border-protection unit would conduct air
surveillance within a 400-kilometre radius of Bellingham, but RCMP
Sgt. John Ward said Wednesday that is not the case.

Ward, spokesman for the RCMP's "E" Division, said the new unit will
not be "conducting operations on Canadian soil or violating Canadian
sovereignty.

"That's not happening. That's not on," he said.

Ward said Canadian authorities have worked closely for years with
American authorities on the issue of border protection, and any
security intelligence relating to Canada is shared with the Canadian
authorities.

"We've had ongoing dialogues with [American authorities] for years. So
there's absolutely nothing new there," Ward said. "We've been having
regular and ongoing dialogue and we do operations together."

Ward said the addition of new equipment and new personnel to existing
border security efforts will be an "adjustment," but it is too soon to
say what impacts the new unit will have on security.

Gary Bracken, communications director for the U.S. Office of Air and
Marine Operations, said Tuesday that aircraft with the new unit would
scan an area within a 400-kilometre radius of Bellingham.

Bracken clarified his statement Wednesday, and said that radius does
not penetrate into Canadian territory, but reaches east along the
border and west out to sea.

He also noted that the radius is a rough guideline, and the unit will
respond to calls beyond the Bellingham jurisdiction if they're needed.

The Bellingham branch of U.S. Air and Marine Operations will
officially open Friday.

Initially, the unit will share two helicopters with southern border
units, but Bracken said helicopters will likely be stationed there
permanently within a year.