BORDER GUARDS NEED THE POWER TO SEARCH VEHICLES

It is not uncommon for the Canadian legal system to be criticized for
lenient sentencing or questionable deals with offenders.

People in this part of the country are all too aware of the "Deal with
the Devil" that saw schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka serve a mere 12
years for her role in the sex-slayings of two teenage girls. A British
Columbia court is taking that reputation for leniency to a whole new
level with its ridiculous ruling that Canada Customs border guards
should acquire a warrant before conducting anything more than a
cursory search of vehicles entering the country.

In mid-July, a B.C. judge acquitted a man of importing 50 kilograms of
cocaine into the country because the border guards who dismantled his
truck searching for the drugs didn't have a warrant.

Thankfully, as Justice Minister and Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson
pointed out last week, the federal government is appealing this
ruling. One can only hope there is more sense in the higher courts.

In January 2005, Ajitpal Singh Sekhon was waved over for inspection at
a border crossing in the Fraser Valley. The border guards on duty said
he appeared nervous. A drug-sniffing dog detected the presence of
drugs. Small holes drilled into the frame of the truck indicated
something was amiss.

The border guards had more than enough probable cause to further the
inspection, which turned up a secret compartment in which the drugs
were stashed.

As a sovereign nation, Canada retains the right to regulate what is
brought into this country.

Canadian Border Services has been charged with the task of making sure
we have a safe, secure and efficient border. In fact, just this week
the first of armed border guards took up their posts.

It is impractical to expect our border guards to carry that tremendous
responsibility without the power to search suspect vehicles.

Otherwise the path for contraband - specifically drugs and weapons -
will be wide open.

(This at a time when Canada is grappling with the increasing illegal
use of handguns, many of which are smuggled into this country from the
United States.)

Can border guards really be expected to play their part in keeping
guns and drugs off our streets if they have to wait for a warrant
every time a suspect vehicle pulls up beside their kiosk?

To be clear, entering the country and submitting to questioning and
possible inspection is not a routine traffic stop. This was not a man
flagged for speeding who was then detained and improperly searched.

He was attempting to smuggle an illegal substance into
Canada.

Canada's border has enough problems with unfounded accusations of it
being porous without the courts in this country adding to that
perception.