海角社区官网

LeBlanc, who was sworn in as Justin Trudeau鈥檚 finance minister Monday following Chrystia Freeland鈥檚 abrupt exit, is expected to relinquish the public safety portfolio in the coming days.

He said he and Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly have already run the measures by Trump鈥檚 鈥渂order czar鈥� Tom Homan and left 鈥渆ncouraged鈥� by the conversation.

鈥淚’m confident that as we continue to work with our American partners, they’ll see that our resolve is absolute, that we share completely their concerns around the integrity of the border 鈥� the integrity of the visa process and the fight against organized crime and synthetic drugs,鈥� LeBlanc said.

Monday鈥檚 fall budget update, which was tabled without Freeland, included a plan to spend $1.3 billion over six years to provide a 鈥渃omprehensive border security package to Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Communications Security Establishment, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.鈥�

The document noted the need to 鈥渕ake clear that attempts to subvert the security of the border or come to Canada outside legal channels are prevented,鈥� but made no mention of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 threat to slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports if his border concerns are not addressed.

Trump tied the tariff threat to illegal immigration and the flow of 鈥渄rugs, in particular fentanyl鈥� across the Canadian and Mexican borders.

One of the proposals LeBlanc announced Tuesday is the creation of a 鈥淣orth America Joint Strike Force鈥� aimed at curbing organized cross-border crime.

鈥淭his new joint strike force could include, for example, support in operational surges, dedicated synthetic drug units, expanded combined forces, special enforcement units, binational integrated border enforcement teams, and new technical operations capacity and related infrastructure,鈥� LeBlanc said, flanked by Immigration Minister Marc Miller, International Trade Minister Mary Ng and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya鈥檃ra Saks.

An 鈥淎erial Intelligence Task Force鈥� is another of the measures, which would rely on helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers to ensure ports of entry are monitored around the clock.

Ottawa has also earmarked cash for the RCMP and CSE to improve their ability to collect intelligence on transnational organized crime and fentanyl trafficking.

To ease traffic volumes between the Canada-U. S. border, Miller said they would end the practice of 鈥渇lagpoling,鈥� which allows temporary residents to leave Canada and immediately turn back at an official land port of entry in order to access immigration services without having to wait for lengthy online processing.

Calling it 鈥渁n irritant鈥� for American authorities, Miller said temporary residents already in Canada must apply online to renew or change their immigration status.

He said the government is amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to give officials additional power to 鈥渃ancel, change or suspend鈥� immigration documents and new applications to prevent those who may pose a risk to Canada from entering the country and prevent migrants with temporary status in Canada from crossing into the U.S. illegally via Canada.

To boost the integrity of the immigration system, Ottawa will also remove the advantage of having a formal Canadian job offer in the permanent resident selection process. Currently, candidates with job offers by way of a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment receive bonus points in the competitive talent pool. As a result, unscrupulous employers and agents prey on migrants by offering fake job offers at a hefty price.

鈥�(For) anyone considering entering Canada illegally as we head into the coldest months of the winter, we want to make it clear that trying to cross Canada between our official ports of entry is dangerous and it will, in all those cases, render any subsequent asylum claim unsuccessful,” Miller said.

The package of new measures also includes efforts to clamp down on fentanyl crossing the border, along with precursor chemicals, or the substances used to make illegal drugs.

The Liberals propose to do so by using artificial intelligence and imaging tools to detect illegal substances before they enter Canada, tasking CBSA with deploying canine teams to intercept the drugs, and putting new tools in place in the country鈥檚 most high-risk entry points.

Health Canada plans on fast tracking the regulatory process for banning precursor substances from 36 months to 6 months to allow authorities to move more quickly to block illegal importation and use.

A reality check from the Star following Trump鈥檚 tariff threat found that while fentanyl seizures in the U.S. northern border region increased over the past year, they only represent a fraction of the total that U.S. authorities have intercepted over the past two years. The Star also found that the number of people U.S. border agents apprehended in the northern border region under the 鈥淭itle 8鈥� authority 鈥� detaining someone not allowed in the U.S. 鈥� rose to 23,721 during the 2024 fiscal year, though apprehensions at the southern border exceeded 1.5 million.

Earlier in the day, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would only judge the Liberals鈥� proposals once more concrete details were available.

鈥淗ow many helicopters, how many drones, how many boots on the ground? That’s the question I will be asking when I’m prime minister,鈥� Poilievre told reporters.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told reporters that he would need 鈥渁n excess of 150 resources鈥� to staff the strike force, and said he was exploring the possibility of renting helicopters because he 鈥渃an鈥檛 just buy a helicopter tomorrow.鈥�