Latest news with #KevinBrosseau
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fact Check: A look at White House claims about Canada's fentanyl fight 'failure'
The United States made good on its promise to slap hefty tariffs on Canada Friday as the countries failed to reach a trade deal by U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline. A fact sheet from the White House said Canada's "failure" to address the opioid crisis was part of the reason for going ahead with the 35 per cent tariffs on certain goods from Canada. Here's a look at some of the claims made in the White House announcement, as well as the facts behind them: CANADA'S DRUG ENFORCEMENT 'FAILURE' "Given Canada's continued failure to arrest traffickers, seize illicit drugs, or co-ordinate with U.S. law enforcement … further presidential action is necessary and appropriate to protect American lives and the national security and foreign policy of the United States," the White House fact sheet states. THE FACTS In December, after the newly elected Trump began to press Canada about the flow of fentanyl into the United States, Canada pledged to invest $1.3 billion to bolster security at the border and strengthen the immigration system. A fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, was appointed in February to co-ordinate the response. Since then, the federal government says it has invested heavily in fighting illicit drug production and trafficking, including another $200 million to target organized crime, enhanced border surveillance and staffing, 15 surveillance towers and other detection tools added to ports of entry. Canada has also deployed at the border new drones, four Black Hawk helicopters and a specialized plane for aerial surveillance, which collectively utilize infrared, heat-seeking and other advanced detection capabilities. The Canadian government says it's teaming up with the United States through a variety of joint efforts. "Canada and the U.S. count on each other to share information, identify and protect against threats," the Canada Border Services Agency told The Canadian Press in a statement. "The CBSA and (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) each have officers embedded in our respective targeting centres and regularly share intelligence as well as several dedicated liaison officers working out of Canada's embassy in Washington, D.C." The agency also pointed to its investigation in February and March, Operation Blizzard, which led to more than 2,600 seizures of suspected narcotics and precursors across the country transported through postal shipments, air cargo and shipping containers. The seizures included 1.73 kilograms of fentanyl, of which 1.44 kilograms were headed to the United States. Of the total drug seizures, the agency said, just 17.5 per cent was destined for the United States while 67.5 per cent had entered from south of the border. From Jan. 1 to April 30 this year, the agency said it seized 2.14 kilograms of fentanyl headed for the United States and 28 grams headed from the United States into Canada. Canadian law enforcement has shut down 47 fentanyl labs since 2018, data from Brosseau's office shows. SEIZURES AT NORTHERN BORDER The fact sheet says fentanyl seizures at the northern border this fiscal year "have surpassed total seizures of the past three years combined." THE FACTS U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows 33.6 kilograms, of fentanyl has been seized at the northern border so far in fiscal year 2025, which ends Sept. 30. That is indeed more than the combined 26.8 kilograms seized in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, but it pales in comparison with the amount of fentanyl seized at the border with Mexico. The same data shows around 3,992 kilograms of fentanyl has been seized at the southwestern border of the United States so far this fiscal year. The amount of fentanyl seized coming into the United States through the northern border is 0.8 per cent of the total amount of fentanyl seized by border enforcement this fiscal year. DRUG POTENCY The White House claimed the amount of fentanyl seized at the Canadian border in the 2025 fiscal year "could have killed more than 16 million Americans due to the drug's potency." THE FACTS The United States Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that around two milligrams of fentanyl could be lethal. By that measure, the 33 kilograms seized at the Canadian border potentially could kill 16 million people. However, the actual number of opioid overdose deaths in the United States is measured in the thousands, not millions. Provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows synthetic opioid deaths in the United States are trending downward, with 46,651 deaths recorded over the 12 months ending January 2025, compared with 72,718 in the previous 12-month period. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025. Colleen Hale-Hodgson and Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fact Check: A look at White House claims about Canada's fentanyl fight 'failure'
The United States made good on its promise to slap hefty tariffs on Canada Friday as the countries failed to reach a trade deal by U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline. A fact sheet from the White House said Canada's "failure" to address the opioid crisis was part of the reason for going ahead with the 35 per cent tariffs on certain goods from Canada. Here's a look at some of the claims made in the White House announcement, as well as the facts behind them: CANADA'S DRUG ENFORCEMENT 'FAILURE' "Given Canada's continued failure to arrest traffickers, seize illicit drugs, or co-ordinate with U.S. law enforcement … further presidential action is necessary and appropriate to protect American lives and the national security and foreign policy of the United States," the White House fact sheet states. THE FACTS In December, after the newly elected Trump began to press Canada about the flow of fentanyl into the United States, Canada pledged to invest $1.3 billion to bolster security at the border and strengthen the immigration system. A fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, was appointed in February to co-ordinate the response. Since then, the federal government says it has invested heavily in fighting illicit drug production and trafficking, including another $200 million to target organized crime, enhanced border surveillance and staffing, 15 surveillance towers and other detection tools added to ports of entry. Canada has also deployed at the border new drones, four Black Hawk helicopters and a specialized plane for aerial surveillance, which collectively utilize infrared, heat-seeking and other advanced detection capabilities. The Canadian government says it's teaming up with the United States through a variety of joint efforts. "Canada and the U.S. count on each other to share information, identify and protect against threats," the Canada Border Services Agency told The Canadian Press in a statement. "The CBSA and (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) each have officers embedded in our respective targeting centres and regularly share intelligence as well as several dedicated liaison officers working out of Canada's embassy in Washington, D.C." The agency also pointed to its investigation in February and March, Operation Blizzard, which led to more than 2,600 seizures of suspected narcotics and precursors across the country transported through postal shipments, air cargo and shipping containers. The seizures included 1.73 kilograms of fentanyl, of which 1.44 kilograms were headed to the United States. Of the total drug seizures, the agency said, just 17.5 per cent was destined for the United States while 67.5 per cent had entered from south of the border. From Jan. 1 to April 30 this year, the agency said it seized 2.14 kilograms of fentanyl headed for the United States and 28 grams headed from the United States into Canada. Canadian law enforcement has shut down 47 fentanyl labs since 2018, data from Brosseau's office shows. SEIZURES AT NORTHERN BORDER The fact sheet says fentanyl seizures at the northern border this fiscal year "have surpassed total seizures of the past three years combined." THE FACTS U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows 33.6 kilograms, of fentanyl has been seized at the northern border so far in fiscal year 2025, which ends Sept. 30. That is indeed more than the combined 26.8 kilograms seized in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, but it pales in comparison with the amount of fentanyl seized at the border with Mexico. The same data shows around 3,992 kilograms of fentanyl has been seized at the southwestern border of the United States so far this fiscal year. The amount of fentanyl seized coming into the United States through the northern border is 0.8 per cent of the total amount of fentanyl seized by border enforcement this fiscal year. DRUG POTENCY The White House claimed the amount of fentanyl seized at the Canadian border in the 2025 fiscal year "could have killed more than 16 million Americans due to the drug's potency." THE FACTS The United States Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that around two milligrams of fentanyl could be lethal. By that measure, the 33 kilograms seized at the Canadian border potentially could kill 16 million people. However, the actual number of opioid overdose deaths in the United States is measured in the thousands, not millions. Provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows synthetic opioid deaths in the United States are trending downward, with 46,651 deaths recorded over the 12 months ending January 2025, compared with 72,718 in the previous 12-month period. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025. Colleen Hale-Hodgson and Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Isaiah Collier with the great assist!
Canada's fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau, right, is seen with Denver, a Canada Border Services Agency narcotics detection dog, during a tour of the CBSA Lansdowne port of entry in Lansdowne, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to slap a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods as the two countries have been engaged in negotiations to reach some sort of trade latest threat came in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that the president posted to his social media site, Truth Social, on Thursday evening."There will be no tariff if Canada, or companies within your country, decide to manufacture product within the United States," the letter said the tariffs will take effect on Aug. 1, and wrote that he will increase the levies if Canada and Carney have been locked in negotiations to come to some sort of trade resolution by July 21. Carney's office said he had received the letter, and the prime minister said in a social media post he was committed to defending Canadian workers and Carney said Canada would negotiate to the revised deadline date, he also added the country was "strengthening our trade partnerships throughout the world."In his letter, Trump again cited fentanyl "pouring" into the U.S. from Canada — even though data continues to show that minimal amounts of the drug are crossing the Canada-U.S. border compared to the U.S.'s southern has been complaining about fentanyl crossing the northern border since he was re-elected in November. After taking office, he imposed tariffs he said are designed to punish Canada for not doing enough to crack down on the fentanyl drug said in his statement that Canada had made "vital progress" in stemming the flow of fentanyl."We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries," he fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau, right, is seen with Denver, a Canada Border Services Agency narcotics detection dog, during a tour of the CBSA Lansdowne port of entry in Lansdowne, Ont., on Feb. 12. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)Now, the president seems to be taking the border-related tariffs a step further by promising a 35 per cent levy. The U.S. is currently imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all non-CUSMA compliant goods coming from Canada and a lower 10 per cent rate on energy and potash as part of a border-related tariffs announced a $1.3-billion investment in border security and named a fentanyl czar to address the concerns coming from the White U.S. has also hit Canadian steel, aluminum and autos with an import levy, which have been particularly damaging to the Canadian economy, leading to job losses and a drop in | Trump threatens 35% tariff on all Canadian goods:Trade negotiations underwayTrump has also been promising to slap a 50 per cent tariff on copper coming into the U.S. According to federal data, Canada exported some $9.3 billion worth of copper and copper-based products in 2023, with a majority of that — 52 per cent — going to the U.S. China and Japan followed, with 17 and 12 per cent of Canadian exports, he primarily cited fentanyl in his Thursday letter, Trump also listed other irritants, such as Canada's supply management and Trump have been having direct conversations with each other, and the two agreed to try to resolve trade disputes this month when the president was in Alberta for the G7 summit in Affairs Minister Anita Anand said just Thursday morning that she was hopeful an agreement could be reached by the July 21 | Foreign affairs minister 'still hopeful' trade deal can be reached:"This is an effort that we are putting all our weight behind, it is necessary for the health of our economy," Anand told reporters from Malaysia, where she is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit as part of a tour of the Indo-Pacific region."We are still hopeful that an agreement can be achieved."Trump targets other countries with threatening lettersConservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took to social media Thursday evening to blast the latest tariff threat as "unjustified.""All Canadians must come together to defend our economy. Conservatives stand ready to do everything we can to secure the best deal for Canada by the July 21 deadline," he wrote in a post on X."Our country stands united."Lara Payne, president of Unifor, which represents some 320,000 employees including auto and steel workers, characterized it as "extortion.""Workers are counting on our [government] to defend their jobs," said Payne. "Concessions won't stop a bully, but collective strength will."WATCH l Few details available on any deals as Trump takes 'maximalist approach:Last week, the Liberal government announced it would rescind its digital services tax on the eve it was to take effect. Trump demanded the tax be eliminated and cut off Canada-U.S. trade negotiations just days before the letter to Carney was posted just a day after the president posted multiple other letters to social media, threatening tariffs on other countries, including: Brazil, the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka. 3:54 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
CBC
05-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Fentanyl seizures are up at the U.S. northern border — but Canada is still a very small player
The latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows an uptick in the amount of fentanyl seized near the American northern border with Canada — but the quantities intercepted remain a tiny fraction of what's coming from Mexico. The figures show U.S. border guards hauled in a relatively miniscule amount of the deadly drug in the first few months of the 2024-25 fiscal year — often reporting 0.5 kilograms or less seized — before a jump in April and May, when officials captured six and 14 kilograms, respectively, near the Canadian boundary. Those busts mean more fentanyl has been seized along the northern border so far this year than in all of 2023-24. Between October 2024 and May, the U.S. has captured 26 kilograms compared to the 19.5 kilograms taken over the 12 previous months. At the U.S. southwestern border with Mexico, by comparison, officials have so far seized some 3,700 kilograms of fentanyl this fiscal year — enough product to potentially kill hundreds of thousands of drug users and easily dwarfing what officials uncovered coming from Canada. A CBP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment for this story. The border data does not offer specifics on how or where the fentanyl was seized, or why there was a notable uptick near the northern boundary in the last two months. What is known is that there were seven "seizure events" in April and five in May. In an interview with CBC News, Canada's fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, said he's concerned about the Americans taking in more of the drug, saying a single gram captured anywhere near the border is too much. Brosseau said it's possible that, with U.S. President Donald Trump's focus on the southern border, some criminal elements may be turning to Canada. "If additional pressure is put on one side, they'll look to go somewhere else," Brosseau said of the cartels that move these drugs. "We've got to be inhospitable," he said, promising to continue an aggressive approach to intercepting drugs and those that traffic them. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government recently introduced legislation that would help do just that. "We're really focused on closing them off," Brosseau said of drug-toting criminals. "Anything going south from Canada ought to be stopped." While troubled by the slight uptick in fentanyl seizures, Brosseau said he took some comfort from a new report by the Manhattan Institute, a U.S.-based think-tank, that shows Canada has not been the main supplier of fentanyl to the States — far from it. From 2013 to 2024, 99 per cent of pills and 97 per cent of powder-form fentanyl captured in large seizures at U.S. land borders came from Mexico, researchers found — with "large" being defined as over a kilogram of powder or more than 1,000 pills, quantities indicative of wholesale trafficking. "The greater source of this problem for the U.S. is Mexico and this is one more study that confirms that," Brosseau said. "It replicates what we've been saying from the get-go," he said. The report found the pattern of Mexico being an outsized source of fentanyl for the U.S. has held up in recent years — despite Trump's claims that the drug is "pouring in" from Canada and justifies punitive tariffs. Carney is locked in negotiations to get Trump's fentanyl-related border tariffs, and the other ones, lifted by month's end. In 2023-24, U.S. counties on the border with Mexico, which make up 2.35 per cent of the American population, accounted for about 40 per cent of large fentanyl seizures, researchers found. The counties along the border with Canada, meanwhile, which hold 3.1 per cent of the U.S. population, accounted for less than 2.5 per cent of large seizures. WATCH | U.S. drugs and guns are entering Canada: U.S. drugs and guns pouring into Canada, border data shows 5 months ago Duration 1:52 In an interview with CBC News, Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College in Pittsburgh and a co-author of that research report, said "the stuff we seize at the northern border is a very small share" of the U.S. supply. "Does any fentanyl cross from Canada to the United States? Sure. Some amount of drugs crosses the border between any two countries in the world. The real question is where is the bulk of it coming from? And it's not from Canada," he said. While Trump and his officials point to an uptick in fentanyl seizures at the northern border, Caulkins said there's a "gigantic increase in the percentage because it is starting from an extremely low base." In 2023-24, for example, CBP captured less than a kilogram, before taking in about 19.5 kilograms the next year. That works out to a roughly 1,850 per cent increase — an eye-popping figure that obscures how little is really being seized. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem raised those percentage increases during a recent visit to Michigan, where she said former prime minister Justin Trudeau was a "train wreck" and Trump and his team "are not letting down our guard." While the trafficking figures are comparatively small, that doesn't mean Canada is a fentanyl-free zone, Caulkins said. After all, more than 52,000 apparent opioid toxicity deaths were reported between January 2016 and December 2024 in Canada, according to federal data. In 2024, 74 per cent of those deaths involved fentanyl. Late last year, police in B.C. busted a so-called drug "super lab" that authorities believe was producing fentanyl for both the domestic and U.S. markets. Federal investigators seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl. "For both Canada and the United States, the scale of death is just astonishing. I don't want to make it sound like the implication of this is, 'Hey, just relax," Caulkins said. "But the movement between our two borders is really not the important story. We are alike in suffering from this fentanyl problem that neither of us are causing." Caulkins said Canada and the U.S. would be well served by working even more closely together to try and crack down on fentanyl, saying an antagonistic approach is counterproductive. "If you really care about controlling your border, the most important thing to do is work in a co-operative way with the country that's on the other side," he said. That's what Brosseau is trying to do. Brosseau said that in his five months on the job, he's helped foster more intelligence-sharing between the two countries, which has helped lead to more seizures here. Just last month, Ontario Provincial Police reported recent law enforcement work resulted in the seizure of some 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl, equivalent to roughly 435,000 potentially lethal street-level doses. "Seemingly every week there's another significant bust. I think that speaks to the fact that there's a greater intensity to the effort," Brosseau said. And the czar said he speaks every working day to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, which reports directly to Trump, and the Americans there have shown "deep appreciation and recognition" of Canada's efforts to get a handle on fentanyl. "Canada is on it. We're doing our part to be a good neighbour," he said.
National Observer
13-06-2025
- Health
- National Observer
Fentanyl czar expects government's border bill to help in fight against lethal drug
Canada's fentanyl czar says the fight against the deadly opioid would get a boost from proposed new tools for law enforcement in the Liberal government's recently tabled border bill. Kevin Brosseau, the federal point person on fentanyl, welcomes provisions in the Strong Borders Act to increase inspection powers, give police easier access to information, crack down on money laundering and improve control of chemicals used to make the drug. Br osseau was appointed fentanyl commissioner in February in response to the White House's vocal concerns about the southbound flow of the synthetic opioid into the United States — criticism it used to justify tariffs against Canada. In an interview, Brosseau said Canada is "not the significant source" of fentanyl entering the United States, but reiterated his stance that being the source of any of the drug is a concern because small amounts can have devastating effects. Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, said his American counterparts have expressed "deep appreciation" for Canada's efforts to address fentanyl, given the US focus on hardening the border and protecting the homeland. He said they want to take additional steps in "a collaborative approach" with Canada to address any gaps in areas such as information sharing. As a result, Brosseau said, his message of integrating and amplifying the work on fentanyl north of the border "has been well received" by the Americans. "We know domestically, in communities across this country, there is a problem with fentanyl production, supply, trafficking and use," he said. An average of about 21 people a day are dying in Canada from using the drug, "and that's what incentivizes me to act and do something." The Liberal government's wide-ranging border bill has drawn pointed criticism from civil libertarians and refugee protection advocates. The legislation contains several elements Brosseau sees as helpful in tackling fentanyl, including a requirement that owners and operators at certain ports provide facilities for the Canada Border Services Agency to examine and detain goods bound for export. The bill would also remove barriers that prevent police from searching mail to advance a criminal investigation, where authorized to do so under the law, and expand Canada Post's inspection authority to open mail. The legislation would also make it easier for authorities to access information about internet subscribers, enable the health minister to more rapidly control precursor chemicals that can be used to produce illicit drugs and introduce new restrictions on large cash transactions. Brosseau suggested a comprehensive approach is key because, otherwise, fighting fentanyl producers and traffickers becomes a game of whack-a-mole, with a new vulnerability popping up as soon as one is eliminated. "Criminal organizations are incredibly adept at figuring out what the weak points are, and when the weak points are found, they will be exploited until you close it off," he said. The proposed legislation builds on earlier Canadian border security measures, including the introduction of round-the-clock border surveillance using helicopters, drones and towers. Ottawa is also working with Washington on a North American "joint strike force" to target organized crime groups that work across borders. Overall, Brosseau is taking a broad view of the fentanyl problem, stressing the need to hold those who profit from the drug accountable and make sure authorities have the needed tools, while also putting programs in place to help addicted people find a path to recovery. "I call it an all-of-society approach," he said. "And the conversations I have with everybody (are) that there are no free rides in this." Brosseau said the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids has become a concern on his street among "parents like me" — part of a larger national conversation. He said he's in a position to provide some comfort and security to fellow parents worried about their children who might be exposed to drugs, and solace to those who are going through heartache by showing "that we're going to do something about it." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
