Latest news with #Sturko
Epoch Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
CCP, Russia, Iran Collaborating With Cartels to Smuggle Fentanyl Into US Through Canada: FBI Director
FBI Director Kash Patel says the flow of fentanyl into the United States is coming from his country's northern neighbour. He says China, Russia, and Iran are partnering with cartels to smuggle the drug into the United States via Vancouver. Patel told Fox News that the Chinese Communist Party and the regimes in Russia and Iran are responsible for the influx of fentanyl pouring into his country. He said hostile regimes like Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow are collaborating with criminal organizations to smuggle fentanyl across the Canada-U.S. border following President Donald Trump's sealing of America's southern border with Mexico. 'They're sailing around to Vancouver and coming in by air,' Patel said during an 'You know who has to step in? It's Canada, because they're making it up there and shipping it down here,' he said. 'I don't care about getting into this debate of making someone the 51st state or not, but they are our partner in the north. And say what you want about Mexico, but they helped us seal the southern border. The facts speak for themselves.' With Vancouver being identified by the FBI as a problem area, B.C. Conservative MLA and public safety critic Elenore Sturko is calling on Premier David Eby's NDP government to implement a provincial fentanyl strategy, appoint a bipartisan provincial drug task force on drug trafficking, and launch two public inquiries. Related Stories 5/16/2025 12/5/2024 'The FBI has issued a warning to Canada to prepare in the event that we see an increase in the production of fentanyl and other deadly drugs as a result of American enforcement on their southern border with Mexico,' she said in a A 2024 There are 235 criminal organizations engaged in fentanyl-related activities, with 35 of these groups participating in the export of domestically manufactured drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the report. Sturko said immediate action should be taken by the B.C. government to deal with the fentanyl issue. 'It's never been more important for us to take action on illicit drug production in British Columbia,' she said. Drug Concerns The comments from Patel and Sturko come just days after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released its 2025 The law enforcement agency says Mexican cartels are capitalizing on the relative ease of the production of synthetic drugs compared with traditional plant-based drug production to generate immense revenues, primarily sourcing the necessary precursor chemicals from China and India. They maintain a 'complex and robust' network—couriers, border tunnels, and stash houses—to smuggle all of the major illicit drugs into the United States via air and maritime cargo as well as overland traffic, the DEA said. Canada was named in the DEA report as a destination point for shipments of precursor chemicals as well as a source of 'growing concern' due to 'elevated synthetic drug production' occurring there, particularly from sophisticated fentanyl The production of fentanyl and its illicit smuggling across borders by Canadian criminal organizations has been a point of contention between the United States and Canada for several months. Trump levied 25 percent White House senior adviser Peter Navarro has Canada has The Prime Minister's Office According to the DEA's 2025 Precursor Chemicals But China analysts say the statistics on northern border drug seizures do not account for the Beijing-linked fentanyl precursor operations that are based in Canada. 'It doesn't have to be that border services at the U.S. [bust] a big load of finished fentanyl,' author and investigative journalist Sam Cooper Once these precursor chemicals are brought into the country, they predominantly find their way to superlabs located across Canada, especially in the Western provinces. 'Superlabs' is the term used by the RCMP to describe the clandestine synthetic drug production facilities, which are 'large-scale, highly organized labs generally tied to organized crime where drugs are produced for the purpose of wholesale trafficking.' Federal investigators in British Columbia said they dismantled the 'largest, most sophisticated' drug-production lab in Canadian history last fall, dealing what they described as a 'decisive blow' to a major transnational organized crime group operating in the province. Pacific Region RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul Several million more 'potentially lethal doses of fentanyl' The police said it was not known where the drugs would have been shipped, but a June 2024 The report identified China as the largest source country for illegal fentanyl and chemical precursors exported to Canada and North America since 2015. Noé Chartier, Riley Donovan, and Omid Ghoreishi contributed to this report.
Vancouver Sun
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. minister's performance in key portfolio leaves much to be desired
VICTORIA — Public Safety Minister Garry Begg expressed no concern this week when news broke that the RCMP had interviewed Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko as part of a witch hunt for a whistleblower. Begg hadn't actually launched the investigation into the leak to Sturko that exposed the widespread diversion of safer supply drugs to the illicit market. The order was given by Glen Lewis, director of police services in Begg's ministry of public safety and solicitor general. But the investigation had no more enthusiastic defender than the minister himself. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'The director is fully within his role to act as he did,' Begg told reporters Wednesday. 'It was an appropriate request, an appropriate investigation. The director did exactly what he should have done.' It wasn't really a request. The section of the Police Act under which Lewis acted made it an order to the RCMP, not a request. Nor did Begg see anything wrong with police descending on Sturko to ask for the source of the leak. 'She was told right away that she was not the subject of an investigation,' the minister said. What about her concern that the investigation was intended to silence whistleblowers and intimidate the Opposition? 'She was, like I, a policeman for many years,' replied Begg. 'She knows how police do their business. I would be very surprised if she was shocked that the police wanted to talk to her.' So, this was OK in his view? 'I certainly approve of an investigation being conducted into the information that was provided to her — that's appropriate.' Begg said all this after the Premier David Eby had said the opposite. Eby defended Sturko. He agreed that the probe could intimidate whistleblowers and the Opposition. Also suggested police resources could be better applied to investigate pharmacies engaged in the diversion of safer supply drugs. Were the premier and his minister of public safety on the same page? 'I can't comment on what the premier has said,' Begg replied. 'I haven't talked to the premier about it.' There matters stood at mid-afternoon on Wednesday, following question period in the legislature. Then at 5 p.m. came an email with what were advertised as 'clarifying comments' from the minister. 'I've now had the opportunity to speak to the premier,' Begg began. 'We've discussed the issue, and I'd like my position to be clear.' One: 'What I approve of is an independent process, and the director of police services was operating under his authority.' Two: 'We support whistleblowers and whistleblower protections.' Three: 'It is our view that everyone should be focusing attention on investigating the pharmacies alleged to be involved in drug diversion.' Four: 'I fully agree Elenore Sturko was doing her job.' Begg said almost none of that to reporters a few hours earlier. Not that whistleblowers needed protection, not that there were better uses for police resources, not that Sturko was doing her job. Presumably his comments flowed from his session with the premier. Eby had offered a critical take on the leak investigation at a noon-hour news conference. He had repeated his comments in question period. On Sturko: 'It is important that the House recognizes that she was doing her job. I spent some time on the Opposition benches, I recognize effective Opposition work. This was certainly a case of that. She shouldn't get a phone call from police for doing her job.' On whistleblowers: 'We introduced legislation to protect whistleblowers. We support whistleblowers bringing forward information that can assist us all in understanding what's happening in the province on the front lines.' On the investigation: 'I'm extremely reluctant to weigh in on where police put their resources. But I really hope that there is more effort going into investigating these pharmacies rather than anything related to the member and what she did in this House.' On Lewis himself: 'I haven't talked to the director yet. The independent director has an important role to play in our system. That independence is part of it. The head of the public service will contact him and will understand the intention and what the plan was and so on.' The premier said all of that — and more — in question period. Begg was in the House when Eby said it. His desk is a few seats away from that of the premier. Yet when reporters talked to the minister after question period, he appeared not to have absorbed any of the premier's thinking. Was Begg not paying attention? Or is he just one of those NDP ministers, confined to a message box and unable to venture outside until authorized to say something different. Either way it wasn't a flattering performance by a minister in a key portfolio. No wonder Begg didn't make the cut when Eby appointed his first cabinet. It took his 22-vote victory in the last election, which secured the NDP majority, before he made it to cabinet rank. No wonder, too, that the premier decided to bypass the minister and get the head of the public service to communicate directly with Lewis on the rationale for this ill-advised investigation. vpalmer@
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Minister's performance in key portfolio leaves much to be desired
VICTORIA — Public Safety Minister Garry Begg expressed no concern this week when news broke that the RCMP had interviewed Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko as part of a witch hunt for a whistleblower. Begg hadn't actually launched the investigation into the leak to Sturko that exposed the widespread diversion of safer supply drugs to the illicit market. The order was given by Glen Lewis, director of police services in Begg's ministry of public safety and solicitor general. But the investigation had no more enthusiastic defender than the minister himself. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'The director is fully within his role to act as he did,' Begg told reporters Wednesday. 'It was an appropriate request, an appropriate investigation. The director did exactly what he should have done.' It wasn't really a request. The section of the Police Act under which Lewis acted made it an order to the RCMP, not a request. Nor did Begg see anything wrong with police descending on Sturko to ask for the source of the leak. 'She was told right away that she was not the subject of an investigation,' the minister said. What about her concern that the investigation was intended to silence whistleblowers and intimidate the Opposition? 'She was, like I, a policeman for many years,' replied Begg. 'She knows how police do their business. I would be very surprised if she was shocked that the police wanted to talk to her.' So, this was OK in his view? 'I certainly approve of an investigation being conducted into the information that was provided to her — that's appropriate.' Begg said all this after the Premier David Eby had said the opposite. Eby defended Sturko. He agreed that the probe could intimidate whistleblowers and the Opposition. Also suggested police resources could be better applied to investigate pharmacies engaged in the diversion of safer supply drugs. Were the premier and his minister of public safety on the same page? 'I can't comment on what the premier has said,' Begg replied. 'I haven't talked to the premier about it.' There matters stood at mid-afternoon on Wednesday, following question period in the legislature. Then at 5 p.m. came an email with what were advertised as 'clarifying comments' from the minister. 'I've now had the opportunity to speak to the premier,' Begg began. 'We've discussed the issue, and I'd like my position to be clear.' One: 'What I approve of is an independent process, and the director of police services was operating under his authority.' Two: 'We support whistleblowers and whistleblower protections.' Three: 'It is our view that everyone should be focusing attention on investigating the pharmacies alleged to be involved in drug diversion.' Four: 'I fully agree Elenore Sturko was doing her job.' Begg said almost none of that to reporters a few hours earlier. Not that whistleblowers needed protection, not that there were better uses for police resources, not that Sturko was doing her job. Presumably his comments flowed from his session with the premier. Eby had offered a critical take on the leak investigation at a noon-hour news conference. He had repeated his comments in question period. On Sturko: 'It is important that the House recognizes that she was doing her job. I spent some time on the Opposition benches, I recognize effective Opposition work. This was certainly a case of that. She shouldn't get a phone call from police for doing her job.' On whistleblowers: 'We introduced legislation to protect whistleblowers. We support whistleblowers bringing forward information that can assist us all in understanding what's happening in the province on the front lines.' On the investigation: 'I'm extremely reluctant to weigh in on where police put their resources. But I really hope that there is more effort going into investigating these pharmacies rather than anything related to the member and what she did in this House.' On Lewis himself: 'I haven't talked to the director yet. The independent director has an important role to play in our system. That independence is part of it. The head of the public service will contact him and will understand the intention and what the plan was and so on.' The premier said all of that — and more — in question period. Begg was in the House when Eby said it. His desk is a few seats away from that of the premier. Yet when reporters talked to the minister after question period, he appeared not to have absorbed any of the premier's thinking. Was Begg not paying attention? Or is he just one of those NDP ministers, confined to a message box and unable to venture outside until authorized to say something different. Either way it wasn't a flattering performance by a minister in a key portfolio. No wonder Begg didn't make the cut when Eby appointed his first cabinet. It took his 22-vote victory in the last election, which secured the NDP majority, before he made it to cabinet rank. No wonder, too, that the premier decided to bypass the minister and get the head of the public service to communicate directly with Lewis on the rationale for this ill-advised investigation. vpalmer@
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Premier admits witch hunt for 'safer supply' whistleblower makes B.C. government look bad
VICTORIA — Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko was in her office in Victoria on April 30 when staff told her the anti-corruption unit in the RCMP's major crimes section wanted to talk to her. Sturko is a former RCMP officer and not easily taken aback. But 'major crimes' and 'anti-corruption' got her attention. She called back immediately. The reason for the call was even more sobering, Sturko learned from the officer at the other end of the phone. The RCMP were investigating the source of a leak, one that had fallen into Sturko's hands, one she'd used to embarrass the NDP government. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The leaked Health Ministry document confirmed what the New Democrats had long denied: Safer supply drugs were being diverted from the intended users to the illicit market. The investigating officer wanted to know if Sturko's source for the document had been a police officer. 'No,' she replied. Beyond that, the MLA refused to say. The conversation was not a long one. 'Ten minutes at most,' says Sturko. The call left her 'pissed off' as she told Rob Shaw, who broke the story Tuesday in the Northern Beat online. The document was delivered to Sturko in her capacity as critic for the Ministry of Solicitor General and Public Safety. That is the very ministry where the director of policing services, Glen Lewis, asked the RCMP to investigate, using his powers under the Police Act. Sturko is also the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale. She believes that members of the public must be free to pass information to MLAs without fear of attracting the attention of the police. 'It is absolutely shameful,' Sturko told me Wednesday. 'There is no doubt in my mind that the government launched this investigation to try to silence whistleblowers and to intimidate the Opposition.' The circumstances do raise suspicions. Sturko released the Health Ministry document to the news media on Feb. 5. It confirmed news reports going back 18 months about the diversion of safer supply drugs. The New Democrats had repeatedly denied and discounted those reports, insisting there was 'no evidence of widespread diversion. Some local RCMP detachments did confirm the diversion was happening. Then on March 11 of last year, RCMP headquarters issued what amounted to a gag order, warning detachments against speaking to reporters 'about controversial or high-profile issues in the pre-election time.' The warning silenced further reports and protected the NDP through to the election. It is also worth recalling the initial government response to Sturko's leak in February. Health Minister Josie Osborne said the MLA's action in releasing a 'confidential document' was 'appalling' because it risked compromising a police investigation into the illicit trade. Not so, said Sturko. She'd checked with the appropriate authorities and confirmed that the version she'd released — minus names and other identifying details — posed no threat to ongoing investigation. A few days after Osborne levelled her accusation, the director of policing services fired off a letter to the RCMP's acting commanding officer for B.C., Will Ng. 'I am writing to request an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of government information related to the investigation of diverted safer supply,' wrote Lewis on Feb. 10. The Health Ministry document 'included sensitive information including investigative information,' he went on to say. With that, the investigation was underway. Later in February, the health minister had to admit that Sturko was right. Osborne announced that henceforth safer supply drugs could only be consumed in the presence of witnesses, to preclude the diversions that had been well documented by her own ministry. Given the embarrassing circumstances for the NDP — the truth about diversion, the backlash over the leak, and then the backdown on safer supply — someone in the government may well have wished to be rid of Sturko's troublesome whistleblower. Solicitor General Garry Begg denied having any part in it. 'I did not direct that this investigation related to the unauthorized release of sensitive information be requested, and I wasn't aware of the request at that time,' he said in a statement. Begg defended the appropriateness of the investigation in a scrum with reporters. His ministry also maintained that neither he nor anyone else in the government had the authority to order a halt. While Begg ran for cover, Premier David Eby grasped how bad it looked for the New Democrats to be presiding over a witch hunt for a whistleblower. 'Elenore Sturko did her job,' the premier told reporters on Wednesday. Had Eby been handed such a delicious leak during his days in Opposition, 'I would have done exactly what she did.' Eby also said he understands how this investigation could be interpreted as an effort to silence whistleblowers and intimidate the Opposition. He then added that anyone who thought it possible to intimidate Sturko would be greatly mistaken. The premier maintained that the government cannot order the director of policing services to stop the investigation. But does he wish that Lewis would call a halt? 'It doesn't feel like a priority right now,' he replied. A strong hint there from the premier that Lewis should drop this investigation before it causes the New Democrats any more embarrassment. vpalmer@
Global News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
BC Conservatives slam investigation into safe supply whistleblower
The B.C. government is facing questions about an investigation into the whistleblower who gave the Official Opposition information about an investigation into diverted 'safe supply' drugs. In February, a Ministry of Health document was leaked and made public by BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko. The document revealed that government-prescribed drugs were being diverted and trafficked, and that 60 pharmacies were being investigated. The release of the document led to Sturko being interviewed by the RCMP's anti-corruption unit. 1:42 B.C. Conservatives release leaked Ministry of Health presentation on safe supply 'If they're willing to send the police to try to find a whistleblower, what are they going to do if this is a healthcare employee or any other member of the community?' Sturko asked on Wednesday. Story continues below advertisement After the leak, B.C. Director of Police Services Glen Lewis wrote to the RCMP, ordering a police act investigation. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think that the director of investigations is fully within his role to act as he did,' B.C. Public Safety Minister Gary Begg told reporters on Wenesday. The RCMP told Global News, 'the investigation focused on the actions of any active law enforcement officer(s), subject to the BC Police Act. The elected official is not now, nor was, under investigation.' BC Conservative Leader John Rustad said the move was clear overreach. The premier confirmed today that his police service director violated the NDP whistleblower protection law by referring this case to an investigative branch,' he said. B.C. Premier David Eby then said the investigation never should have happened. 'She shouldn't get a phone call from police for doing her job. She was sent here by British Columbians to do a specific job and that she was doing,' he said. 2:23 B.C. overhauls safe supply program The Whistleblowing Canada Research Society said the incident was deeply disturbing. Story continues below advertisement 'How else are we ever going to know what is really going on if people who have knowledge are punished for letting us know about something that is of harm to the public?' society president Pamela Forward said. B.C.'s public safety minister, however, stood by his position, in contrast to the premier. 'I certainly approve of an investigation being conducted into the information that was provided by her,' he said. Sturko, meanwhile, said she will continue to protect her source. 'I will not divulge who the source of this document was but except it wasn't a police officer,' she said. Despite what happened, Sturko says she'll continue to protect whistleblowers.
