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National Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Canada's laws ‘outdated and inadequate' to fight cross-border crime, head of police chiefs group says
VICTORIA — The head of the Canada's police chiefs association says they are guided by 'outdated and inadequate' laws that were never designed to take on the current criminal landscape that no longer respects international borders. Article content Thomas Carrique, president of the Association of Chiefs of Police, said police would have been in a better place to 'disrupt' transnational crime, if the federal government had listened to his group in 2001, when it last proposed legislative changes. Article content 'Across Canada, police are confronting the domestic fallout of international disorder, but we are being asked to do so using tools, and authorities built for a different era, guided by outdated and inadequate legislation that was never designed to address today's criminal landscape,' he said on Tuesday. Article content Article content Carrique said 'geopolitical instability and social unrest' around the world are driving what he called 'a new wave of public safety threats' as Canadian police confront transnational organized crime, extremism, drug trafficking and exploitation through the internet. Article content 'Whether it's human smuggling as well as illicit exportation and importation of drugs, precursors, and firearms, organized crime groups are taking advantage of systematic blind spots, outdated statues, and digital platforms to victimize Canadians,' he said. Article content While geopolitics and social unrest might be beyond the control of Canadians and their government, their level of preparation and response is not, he said. Article content Article content The current Strong Borders Act legislation proposed by the federal governments gives police many — but not all necessary _ tools to confront globalized crime, he said. Article content Article content The government said the bill would help authorities combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of fentanyl, crack down on money laundering and bolster police response to criminal networks. Article content He said the federal government's legislation aligns closely with several resolutions the group has passed during the conference this week. Article content Carrique said there are a 'number of loopholes' that must be closed to reflect the realities of 21st century crime, such as the inability of police to get a search warrant for any Canada Post package under 500 grams. Article content 'So, a judge cannot even issue a search warrant for a package of that size that may contain enough fentanyl to kill a number of people.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Top officer says Canada's laws are ‘inadequate' to fight cross-border crime
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique appears at the Public Order Emergency Commission, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang VICTORIA — The head of the Canada's police chiefs association says they are guided by 'outdated and inadequate' laws that were never designed to take on the current criminal landscape that no longer respects international borders. Thomas Carrique, president of the Association of Chiefs of Police, says police would have been in a better place to 'disrupt' transnational crime, if the federal government had listened to his group in 2001, when it last proposed such changes. Carrique says 'geopolitical instability and social unrest' around the world are driving what he called 'a new wave of public safety threats' as Canadian police confront transnational organized crime, extremism, drug trafficking and exploitation through the internet. He says the current Strong Borders Act legislation proposed by the federal governments gives police many — but not all necessary — tools to confront globalized crime. The government says the bill would help authorities combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of fentanyl, crack down on money laundering and bolster police response to criminal networks. Carrique, who's the commissioner of Ontario Provincial Police, says the legislation aligns closely with several resolutions the group has passed during its annual conference being held this week in Victoria, but there are a 'number of loopholes' that must be closed to reflect the realities of 21st century crime. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
