National

Quebec ready to deploy 300 officers at border if illegal crossings into U.S. rise

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jan, 2025 10:50 AM

The Quebec government says it is worried about migrants crossing illegally into the United States from Canada, and is calling on the RCMP to deploy the necessary resources at the border.

François Bonnardel, Quebec's public security minister, made the comments today in the provincial capital, one week before the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president.

For weeks, Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada's exports if the federal government doesn't improve border security.

Bonnardel says the area of concern is the Swanton sector, which covers the border region touching parts of Quebec, Ontario and U.S. states including Vermont and New York.

He says of the 26,000 illegal crossings from Canada into the United States reported in 2024, 19,000 were in the Swanton region.

Bonnardel says there are currently 800 federal and provincial officers operating in the Swanton sector, adding that Quebec is ready to deploy 300 additional provincial police officers within 48 hours if there's a marked rise in illegal crossings.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

4 arrested in drug trafficking investigation

Mounties in Burnaby say four people have been arrested and large amounts of drugs and cash have been seized following a four-month interprovincial drug trafficking investigation. They say officers executed two search warrants on properties in Coquitlam and Surrey and seized more than 95-hundred Hydromorphone pills believed to be diverted prescription pills, as well as other substances including more than a kilogram of suspected cocaine.

4 arrested in drug trafficking investigation

Freeland finds safety in numbers on digital sales tax

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland isn’t showing signs of worry that the U.S. can now launch a trade challenge against the Liberal government's controversial digital services tax. The Liberals are slapping a three-per-cent tax on the Canadian revenues of digital giants, which will affect major U.S. tech companies such as Google and Apple.

Freeland finds safety in numbers on digital sales tax

Lab confirms Canada's first case of avian flu infection in humans in B.C.

Canada's Public Health Agency has confirmed that a British Columbia teenager hospitalized last Friday is the country's first ever human case of domestically acquired avian flu. The agency said in a statement Wednesday that testing at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirms the teen did contract the H5N1 avian flu, the same strain related to viruses found in B.C. flocks in an ongoing outbreak at poultry farms.

Lab confirms Canada's first case of avian flu infection in humans in B.C.

Tributes to John Horgan as B.C. New Democrat members are sworn in

Former British Columbia premier John Horgan loomed large over the swearing-in ceremony Wednesday for 47 New Democrat members of the legislature, a day after his death. Dick said Horgan was a "friend of the people," while Legislature Clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd paid tribute to Horgan for his service to the people of B.C.

Tributes to John Horgan as B.C. New Democrat members are sworn in

Build vaccine stockpile, use wastewater testing for H5N1 bird flu, experts urge

Health Canada has authorized three influenza vaccines that could be used if bird flu became a pandemic, the agency says. The federal government also has an agreement with vaccine manufacturer GSK for domestic vaccine production that could be accelerated if needed, the Public Health Agency of Canada told The Canadian Press in an email.

Build vaccine stockpile, use wastewater testing for H5N1 bird flu, experts urge

Vancouver officer sexually assaulted colleague, but police group chat targeted victim

The decision against Narinder Dosanjh, obtained by The Canadian Press, includes the running commentary on the woman's testimony — apparently written by someone inside the courtroom — that calls her a "bad drunk" and says there was "no way" her case would be proved.