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Sunday, March 05, 2006
Terrorists: Please return in 15 minutes when the Mountie with the gun returns from his coffee break. Thank you.
On January 24, 50 Canadian Border Service (CBS) customs agents walked off the job at the Douglas border crossing near White Rock B.C. when they learned that two armed fugitives from the United States were going to try and force their way into Canada.
With a change in government, Stockwell Day, Canada's new public safety minister, recently visited the border crossing to tell reporters (including Tracy Holmes of the local newspaper, the Peace Arch News) that border guards should be able to be safe on the job.
Whether they will be safe against armed bandits or terrorists, however, may depend on when Mr. Day's ministry will get around to addressing this problem. Up to four years from now.
Mr Day's February 22 visit to the crossing was covered by the Peace Arch News the following Saturday (in their print edition, but apparently not online). Mr. Day, for his part, was able to quote many relevant statistics including the facts that Canadian border guards had seized 5,000 illegal handguns at the border in the past four years.
According to reporter Holmes' paraphrase of what Mr. Day said, though, the minister may think that arming Canadian border agents may not be a cost effective solution:
Day told reporters he doesn't have all the answers to he border dilemma, but said the cost of armed guards is being explored. He figured it would take up to four years to train guards across Canada. Day said an increased RCMP presence at the border is being considered as an alterative to arming CBS agents.
Some observations:
Perhaps Mr. Day should have delayed his visit to the border until he has a good idea what policy he planned to pursue. Rushing to White Rock to explain that you are so concerned about the safety of border guards that...you may get around to actually doing something about it someday seems a bit underwhelming.
I am also wondering about the "up to four years" deadline. If we accept the argument that Canada faces urgent threats at the border which require armed agents, couldn't this process be sped up?
I wonder if Mr. Day's political advisors are suggesting to him that the Liberals may see border guards...with guns...in Canada...as something scary that may be used to frighten voters. Thus a need to "listen to all the suggestions" on this issue, as Mr. Day put it that day in B.C., until next year's election is safely past.
Posted by Rick Hiebert on March 5, 2006 | Permalink
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Comments
Four years!
Let's see ... these are government employees so they will require four years of therapy to get over their pathalogical fear of guns and two weeks training on how to get them out of the holster point them and pull the trigger.
Good thing there are Ameicans nearby. They will protect us as usual.
Posted by: Duke | 2006-03-05 2:09:29 PM
Let's see ... these are government employees so they will require four years of therapy to get over their pathalogical fear of guns and two weeks training on how to get them out of the holster point them and pull the trigger.
Good thing there are Ameicans nearby. They will protect us as usual.
Even some of the Mickey Mouse Mounties are some of the biggest expense account thieves, pirated software collectors still , alcoholics now too.
Evey time a cop or civil servant does something bad their unions tends also says they need more training.
When you had hired bad rubbish to start off with no training will help them next still.
The same good solution should be applied to them all ASAP that was applied to bad Paul martin and his bad Liberals, fire them, kick them out of office.
Paul Martin has gone into hiding even locally in his riding cause of this embarrassment too.
Posted by: Day or Night | 2006-03-05 3:05:12 PM
This wouldnt be a problem if the border patrol was made up of ex-military like the US has, instead of those teenagers and other useless otherwise unemployable people.
After all the people of Ontario need an open border and see the mass murder in their cities from US guns as an acceptable risk!
This is why Alberta has to take over from the rich Easterners in guarding our borders...including the ones with Canada. We don't want Ontarians coming here bringing their death, genocide and ignorance with them. In fact, we don't want you at all. Oh how I dream of the day we herd the Ontarians into boxcars and send them back home!
Posted by: Scott | 2006-03-05 3:33:16 PM
Well RUBERT,
That's because if these things are widely known, bad people would be tipped off and start using those crossings. Did you know that?
Of course, the point is that those crossings should be manned as well ... so what's your point?
Posted by: Duke | 2006-03-05 3:43:31 PM
Further to the all seeing Rubert,
A Rube is defined as an unsophisitated person, but is also a term used by Circus people to identify their patrons.
I would rather be a Rube than a member of the Circus troop. That would be your domain Rubert.
Sophistication is just another word for bullshit.
The plain and simple tend to tell things as they are without the fear of being made to look foolish. You can't truly shame someone for simply not knowing something that you know. If so, we'd all have much to be ashamed of.
A Rube may be unaware of particular information and is willing to say so, whereas the Sophicticated (Rubert) is unable to admit that there is anything he is unaware of.
Think of the prestige and power to be wielded by knowing that there are a couple of remote border crossing that the Americans are not tending. Brilliant!
But then, we only have the word of a sophisticate on that.
Posted by: Duke | 2006-03-05 4:22:35 PM
Who in his right mind would want to come to Canada and even get abused some more?
Posted by: Geek | 2006-03-05 4:35:21 PM
Customs officers with guns? Oh so necessary. *rolls eyes*
You live in fear of the bogeyman, but the bogeyman is as much your own government as any terrorists.
The chief enabler and agent of terror is the state. Terrorist training camps may exist in North America, as the link below alleges, if so, do so with the acceptance of our governments as they occasionally prove useful.
http://www.frogstylebiscuit.com/index.php?articles_function=show_detail&name=articles&id=263
Posted by: Mike | 2006-03-05 4:38:11 PM
Who really are the border guards
Are they the same customs people who were given the title of Can. Border Services only to create the illusion of substance in terms of protecting Canada.
Are they acutually contract serivces people - like in that one eastern post where the employee actually did remain after a threat - because s/he was afraid of losing a job.
Is it possible that the "border guards" themsleves would faint if they had to pick up a gun, much less fire one, or worse yet - hit a target at 10 meters?
4 years to learn how to shoot a shotgun - give me a break!!!! If they don't already know this much, then they shouldn't be employed/calling themselves a Border Service. These people may well be a disaster if they had to use handguns and perhaps this is the problem.
Perhaps Day and Gen Hillier will get together in terms of lining up French speaking immigrants to fill the CCC coded jobs in both services - if they go to the right countries, there would be no need for firearms training!!!!!
At least Day is saying something in public. (albeit totally useless).
Monte - most voiciferous/available in opposition - now is nowhere to be seen or heard. I hope he was watching W5 this weekend about the criminals ordered deported yet reamining un-deported and "residing" at totally bogus addressess. Hopefully he will have more meaninglful actions in Citizenship/Immig than Day seems to be coming up with in Safety.
It is becoming painfully clear just how much the agenda is being controlled by the PCO - and this is a lousy sign.
Posted by: calgary clipper | 2006-03-05 4:55:58 PM
Border guards are just "revenuers" to me. The number of times I've been away and come back it seems they just make up what you should be charged. Imagine those guys with guns.AAAACH Some donut larded arsed R's and P's could be stationed at the border just as easily. Sorry must be more respectful but I'm losing it. Any one else abandonning their post i.e. nurses would be fired on the spot. So should they.
Posted by: circe | 2006-03-05 7:46:24 PM
I don't think any more government employees should get guns until the rest of us do.
My time and my life is worth just as much as anyone else's.
Posted by: Speller | 2006-03-05 11:30:28 PM
Speller,
AMEN!
Posted by: Zog | 2006-03-05 11:48:51 PM
Speller:
"I don't think any more government employees should get guns until the rest of us do".
Exactly!
When I read that, and think about the world-view that sentence implies, I realise you have managed to condense a philosophical treatise of many thousands of words (The English common law, the US second amendment, etc.) down to one sentence. Very good!
The bad guys, from OBL down to your local bank robber, already have guns.
BTW, I fully support all our security organizations having guns. Right AFTER C-68 is rescinded...
Posted by: Mad Mike | 2006-03-06 8:48:36 AM
Robert:
Everyone knows that if you cross the Americans' unguarded border point and fail to report, they'll find your ass and kick it hard.
Can we say the same? Doubt it. The only ass Canada still kicks is that of the middle class Canadian male.
Also, never mind White Rock. The staff at the Roosville border point, 3 hours from Calgary, recently 'withdrew'. An American killer was Alberta bound. The sheriff in Kalispell caught him. Good thing, eh?
Posted by: Fred Z | 2006-03-06 8:51:25 AM
It's OK to have armoured car drivers with guns but let's think about arming our Customs officers.
Why give them guns when they could just as easily call an armoured car driver for help?
I know the unarmed border guards are told to call the local RCMP for help. When? After you take a few bullets?
How about just the fact that arming our border guards in itself would be a major deterent to criminals, let alone the protection factor.
Our fresh new government had better soon arm these guys. In the mean time I tell them "just keep walking off the job". Your leaders have been fools and have failed you. No one should expect you to stay on the job unarmed.
Posted by: St. John | 2006-03-06 10:06:18 AM
Geesh Robert, where were you when my tour group was wishing they could smuggle some firearms and Paps Blue Ribbon into Canada? Geesh, spending 20 minutes at the liquor store figuring out how many people weren't bringing back booze to pick up the slack for those who were, and here we could have avoided it all just by listening to your sage wisdom.
Speller's point is a good one, and the exact one that nobody wanted to hear on the subject of Sky Marshals.
Posted by: Feynman and Coulter's Love Child | 2006-03-06 10:31:28 AM
Greetings,
Over here, on the wet coast, land of fruits and nuts, the fellows over at the Legion were having a few chuckles about the dedication and bravery of those proud, dedicated, canadians in the government employee union, that idle away the hours to retirement, by pretending an unbearable workload at the border crossings. Guess what the veterans of shooting wars observed.
They cannot beleive that these union-aholics would want to have guns. Why?
IT WOULD ONLY SLOW THEM DOWN, AS THEY RUN AWAY, AND DESERT THE POSITIONS THEY ARE PAID TO OCCUPY!
It sure made sense to all of us!
Cheers!
Posted by: knotsmart | 2006-03-06 11:58:21 AM
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