How Canadian fentanyl smuggling to the U.S. really works and who's behind it: Full Comment podcast
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Between President Donald Trump claiming there's a flood of fentanyl from Canada to the U.S., and people here insisting there's almost none, the truth is elusive. A new American report gets to the bottom of what's really going on, and its author, Jonathan Caulkins, talks to Brian about what he found. Specializing in crime systems, the professor from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College breaks down how global supply chains run by criminal organizations moving from Mexico to China to Australia feed Canadian labs with precursor chemicals. And how much of the final made-in-Canada product actually ends up on America's streets — including, unexpectedly, in Alaska.
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In November, 2023, Hockey Canada announced that an independent adjudicative panel held a hearing on the matter and rendered a decision, but an appeal had been filed. No other information was released, including what the panel had decided. Hockey Canada commissioned a new arm's-length panel to hear the appeal. Ten months later, in September, 2024, the organization announced that panel had granted a motion to adjourn the proceedings until the criminal trial was over. The five accused are not the only ones directly affected by the pause. Hockey Canada suspended the entire 2018 world junior team when the incident came to light in June, 2022 – preventing them from playing, coaching, officiating, or volunteering with any programs overseen by the organization. The players remain in limbo until the conclusion of the independent appeal process. 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Only serious sanctions, such as a temporary or permanent suspension, are announced. Ms. Arnason stressed it is imperative for investigations like these to remain secret. National sport organizations, and the people who work for them, can make or break athletes' careers, which creates a disincentive to report maltreatment if people fear being identified as a complainant or whistleblower. 'People want to remain, in many instances, confidential,' she said. Taylor McKee, the director of the Centre for Sport Capacity at Brock University, broadly agrees, though he argued that the public deserves more transparency than the system currently offers. He outlined a potential scenario in which a coach is alleged to have violated what is known in sports as the one-on-one protocol, which ensures adults aren't left alone with minors. The coach may admit to breaking the rule, but that would not normally be disclosed outside the independent probe, since it is not subject to serious sanction. 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