News (Media Awareness Project) - CN MB: Justice Critic Calls Highway A Portal For Guns And Drugs |
| Title: | CN MB: Justice Critic Calls Highway A Portal For Guns And Drugs |
| Published On: | 2009-07-24 |
| Source: | Red River Valley Echo, The (CN MB) |
| Fetched On: | 2009-07-25 17:40:24 |
JUSTICE CRITIC CALLS HIGHWAY A PORTAL FOR GUNS AND DRUGS
News that Hwy. 75 funnels billions of dollars in international trade
from Winnipeg to U.S. destinations is not something that would
ordinarily cause alarm.
Report causes concern
But after a National Drug Intelligence Center report out of the U.S.
suggested the highway was being used to funnel drugs and guns across
the border, Manitoba's PC party has raised the alarm.
PC Justice Critic Kelvin Goertzen referred to a recent sentencing of
a Winnipeg man for smuggling guns into Canada in exchange for drugs,
saying we shouldn't be surprised this kind of thing is happening.
"For years we have said dangerous guns are coming into Manitoba in
exchange for drugs that are grown and produced in Manitoba and for
years the NDP government has dismissed the problem," he said.
Goertzen added that things are going to get worse.
"Guns and drugs are the currency in which gangs trade in and the
value of that currency just keeps going up and up in our province," he said.
Goertzen was referring to the American report called the "2009
Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis."
The report discusses the smuggling of high potency marijuana from
Manitoba to the U.S., and speculates that illegal drugs in the
Dakota's and Omaha markets may rise as drug production in Manitoba increases.
The report assumes that the demand for drugs will rise in the Winnipeg area.
"The Fargo/Grand Forks, Sioux City/Sioux Falls, and Omaha markets
will be especially vulnerable to this increase, since I-29 connects
with Canada's Manitoba Provincial Highway 75, which passes through
Winnipeg," the report states.
Not just a border issue
Goertzen said the issue cannot simply be solved at the border and is
urging the government to get involved and crack down on drugs being
grown or manufactured in Manitoba.
"There is a direct link between the increased presence of guns on the
streets of Winnipeg and the manufacturing of drugs," he said. "If you
want to reduce guns, you have to reduce the drug trade."
News that Hwy. 75 funnels billions of dollars in international trade
from Winnipeg to U.S. destinations is not something that would
ordinarily cause alarm.
Report causes concern
But after a National Drug Intelligence Center report out of the U.S.
suggested the highway was being used to funnel drugs and guns across
the border, Manitoba's PC party has raised the alarm.
PC Justice Critic Kelvin Goertzen referred to a recent sentencing of
a Winnipeg man for smuggling guns into Canada in exchange for drugs,
saying we shouldn't be surprised this kind of thing is happening.
"For years we have said dangerous guns are coming into Manitoba in
exchange for drugs that are grown and produced in Manitoba and for
years the NDP government has dismissed the problem," he said.
Goertzen added that things are going to get worse.
"Guns and drugs are the currency in which gangs trade in and the
value of that currency just keeps going up and up in our province," he said.
Goertzen was referring to the American report called the "2009
Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis."
The report discusses the smuggling of high potency marijuana from
Manitoba to the U.S., and speculates that illegal drugs in the
Dakota's and Omaha markets may rise as drug production in Manitoba increases.
The report assumes that the demand for drugs will rise in the Winnipeg area.
"The Fargo/Grand Forks, Sioux City/Sioux Falls, and Omaha markets
will be especially vulnerable to this increase, since I-29 connects
with Canada's Manitoba Provincial Highway 75, which passes through
Winnipeg," the report states.
Not just a border issue
Goertzen said the issue cannot simply be solved at the border and is
urging the government to get involved and crack down on drugs being
grown or manufactured in Manitoba.
"There is a direct link between the increased presence of guns on the
streets of Winnipeg and the manufacturing of drugs," he said. "If you
want to reduce guns, you have to reduce the drug trade."
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