REGINA - With border security a hot issue and tariffs from the US on the horizon, Premier Scott Moe has released details of the government’s Saskatchewan Border Security Plan.
The province says it is doing this to “enhance border integrity between Saskatchewan and the United States”, according to their news release. According to the province, their plan will enable the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety to mobilize Provincial Protective Services officers to work in partnership with provincial policing services and federal agencies to boost the law enforcement presence near the Saskatchewan-US border.
The plan is to redeploy 16 provincial law enforcement officers within the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol, the Conservation Officer Service, as well as canine handler teams, to the border to do high visibility patrols.
The government says this will include a mobile command unit for commercial vehicle inspections, as well as up to 16 patrol cars equipped with licence plate readers. There are also plans to use specialty equipment including drones, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and also three aircraft that can be used for surveillance.
The intention is for officers to be able to intercept and prevent the movement of drugs and illicit commodities, to engage in traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement, and conduct remote area patrols. As well, the province says it is prepared to mobilize up to 95 total officers as “surge capacity” to address emerging incidents should they happen.
Premier Moe made the announcement at the Wascana Maintenance Depot, where they showed off some of the equipment they plan to deploy. Among them is the Mobile Command Centre used for vehicle inspections.
“We are taking a proactive approach to strengthen security near the Saskatchewan U.S. border,” said Minister of Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod. “The Saskatchewan Border Security Plan builds on the solid foundation that is already working in the province and is closely aligned to existing provincial protective services operations.”
McLeod emphasized their efforts won’t infringe on what the existing Border Security and the Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for.
“We're simply butting up against their jurisdiction. Where they're providing their service, that's their jurisdiction. But our services will complement that and make sure that we're not leaving any gaps and we're focusing on priority areas.”
Moe said redirecting provincial officers to focus on potential high-risk areas will "support the border security work and support the CBSA in the work that they do, and I would say it also will support the broader policing initiatives that we have in our communities.”
“It's these initiatives that will ensure that we have a secure border and will ensure that it doesn't elevate to a point where we're seeing you know illegal drugs coming across the 49th parallel that ultimately will end up in a Saskatchewan community,” said Moe.
When asked if the move to redeploy existing police resources might mean pressures with fewer police on the ground elsewhere, McLeod said they have “specifically crafted the plan so that we're not depleting resources, but rather that we're complementing existing services and refocusing attention in certain priority areas but not depleting or compromising any existing service.
“We've had conversations with SUMA and SARM and other local leaders to make sure that we are not in any way detracting or decreasing service in any of our municipal police forces. And we've had very positive conversations and positive reactions from all of those partners.”
Trump tariff threat looms large
This latest announcement comes in the shadow of the looming threat of 25 per cent tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office next Monday.
Moe’s media event was in advance of his leaving for a First Ministers meeting set for Wednesday in Ottawa, which is expected discuss the threat of tariffs by incoming US President Donald Trump as well as Canada’s border security efforts.
“We've seen the federal government and the outgoing Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau) had made a commitment when it comes to $1.3 billion dollars in additional border security measures,” said Moe. “We don't know what that commitment looks like and how that will actually augment or enhance border security measures but we do look forward to working with the federal government on how those dollars can be invested… The announcement that we're making today and the initiative that we're putting forward here today is that it will enhance that investment. It will enhance the border security initiatives that are already in place today.”
When asked by reporters, Moe described the threat of tariffs from Trump as “very real.”
“I've often said President-elect Trump, what he says and the initiatives that he heads towards, you need to take them very seriously. And I think that... the challenge that we may have facing tariffs, or whatever the amount, is very very real. You wouldn't always take everything the President says literally, but you need to take it seriously, and I think tariffs is something that we would like to and will and are continuing to work to avoid.
“However if they are implemented we will, very much, that work will be part of our initiative to have them lifted sooner rather than later. They're not good for North American energy security, food security or manufacturing security. It's not good for the industries that create wealth in Saskatchewan and Canada. It's also not good for Americans with respect to the cost of fuel that they're going to buy, for example…
“It really is an integrated North American economy and that is where we need to get this conversation back to with our largest trading partner which is the United States of America.”
Moe also pointed to President-elect Trump's previous comments in which he identified border security as one of the issues he wanted to see Canadians work on.
“You're seeing this announcement here today, you've seen other provincial announcements and you've seen a federal initiative, and I think those all point towards a more secure border for not only Canadians but for all North Americans. I would expect part of this conversation as well, as we find our way through Jan. 20th and beyond, will be part of our military spend in this nation, and others. So it is going to be an ongoing conversation with our largest trading partner, and it's one that I think we're capable of navigating .”
Other Premiers have been visible as of late in travelling to the US to meet Trump or make their case in the media, or in announcing plans to attend the Trump inauguration in Washington D.C. next week.
Moe indicated his government had been considering going to the Jan. 20 inauguration, but “it's expensive and there isn't a lot of time for material working meetings at the actual inauguration as there's a lot of ceremony.”
“We'll certainly be with the Premier's mission in February at some point and likely one to two additional missions beyond that. We have worked hard, I think you would say, on our Saskatchewan-to-international relations including the relationships that we have with lawmakers throughout the U.S., and I've always worked hard at meeting with both Democrats and Republicans.”
He noted many of their meetings so far have been “unofficial” meetings with incoming officials of the Trump administration who are not yet confirmed. Moe noted that when looking at the incoming Trump administration, “many of those folks are coming from the Midwest states.”
“Many of them are folks that we've had relationships in the past, and then obviously working with the existing governors of those very Midwest states now. The governors will bring a strong voice in this administration. There's the federal Senate, the federal House, but the 50 governors across the U.S. will bring a very strong voice in the conversations that we need to have to get back to a strong, growing, integrated economy that's creating that energy security and that food security.”
With Canada’s federal Parliament prorogued and the Liberals in a leadership race to succeed Trudeau, Moe also reiterated his recent calls for a federal election.
“All of that leaves us in a very vulnerable position. We have no negotiating strength with President-elect Trump, who is coming in with the most significant mandate in recent history,” said Moe, pointing to Republicans also picking up the House and Senate control.
“We have no such mandate with an outgoing Prime Minister and a party that very well may finish third or fourth in the next election. So, that is a challenge for us, and it's a challenge for all Canadians, and I would say that the Liberal Party of Canada, assisted by the NDP, have put our nation and Canadians in a very vulnerable position when it comes to the conversation that we're having with President-elect Trump today.”
Moe pointed to the provincial Premiers stepping into that space, but added they are “only going to be able to take this discussion so far.”
“At the end of the day, we are going to need a leader, a Prime Minister with a mandate, to sit down across the table with what will then be President-elect Trump and ensure that we can find a better path forward than tariffs to the relationship that we have with our U.S. friends and allies.”
