It鈥檚 frightening and confusing for a boater cruising just off Victoria to be stopped by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel in Canadian waters. It would be unacceptable for the coast guard crew to be exempt from Canadian law 鈥� which is what the Americans want.
Under the Shiprider program, RCMP and U.S. Coast Guard jointly man each other鈥檚 vessels to patrol the international border in the hunt for drug smugglers and other criminals.
A memo prepared for RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson says the U.S. government wants an agreement that American law-enforcement officers in cross-border programs will not be subject to Canadian law while they are working in this country.
The countries plan to start several such projects. One pilot, already begun, has U.S. border agents working in Surrey and in Fort Erie, Ont., to pre-inspect cargo shipments that are headed into the U.S. Eventually, the plan is to create integrated teams for intelligence, criminal investigations and other areas.
The rule has always been that when officers are operating in another country, they have to obey the laws of that country, as they do in the cargo pilot project. If they go off the rails, they face prosecution by the host country.
The Americans have decided they鈥檙e not comfortable with that arrangement. Although senior Mounties raise a number of concerns, the memo shows they have not drawn a line in the sand.
They recommend talking about options, 鈥渆nsuring that law enforcement concerns are properly addressed, rather than taking a firm stance on retaining the status quo.鈥�
That鈥檚 worrying.
We don鈥檛 want armed American police officers and border agents working in sa国际传媒 and holding Get Out of Jail Free cards. The vast majority of them will be dedicated and conscientious, just like most Canadian officers.
But if one of them steps over the line or is accused of stepping over the line, we need to know that the case will be investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted.
The RCMP鈥檚 own memo addresses the main issues that the American request raises:
鈥� Any sovereign country must hold onto its jurisdiction over any illegal acts committed within its borders.
鈥� U.S. and Canadian justice systems have similar policies on police use of force.
鈥� The pact between the two countries that made these security projects possible included an understanding that each would keep its own legal framework.
鈥� It 鈥渨ould not be feasible nor desirable to have two law enforcement officers working together being subjected to different regimes for accountability and criminal liability,鈥� according to the memo.
As the writer of the memo notes, police accountability is important to Canadians. Those who enforce the law in sa国际传媒 do so on our behalf; they must answer to us.
The senior officers recommended that sa国际传媒 not agree to exempt Americans unless Canadian police were granted the same exemption when working in the U.S. It鈥檚 hard to imagine that the American population would like that any more than Canadians would. They have at least as touchy a sense of their sovereignty as we do.
Last year, when concerns were raised about the Shiprider program, then-minister of public safety Vic Toews wrote in a letter to the sa国际传媒: 鈥淲hen in Canadian waters, all law enforcement personnel are subject to Canadian laws, policies and procedures. When in sa国际传媒, all operations are conducted under the supervision of the RCMP.鈥�
It should stay that way.
