Documents disclosed under a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request indicate that Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, authorized late last year that resources of the Canadian Armed Forces be made available to the country’s border agency and the federal police service if they were to encounter “potential irregular migrant vessels.”
The documents indicate that the armed forces now have an expedited method of providing equipment and personnel to both agencies.
According to the documents, both the CBSA and RCMP are able to access “CAF facilities, capabilities and expertise (e.g. logistics/communications capabilities)” when dealing with irregular marine arrivals or illegal migrant vessels.
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One of the highest-profile instances of an illegal migrant vessel comes from the August 2010 arrival of the MV Sun Sea to Canadian waters off the coast British Columbia. Onboard were hundreds of Tamil migrants.
The vessel was escorted by two Royal Canadian Navy vessels to CFB Esquimalt.
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The incident is referenced in the disclosed documents.
“In 2012, the Minister of National Defence authorized the CAF to provide assistance to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) with respect to the imminent arrival of the MV Sun Sea,” the documents read.
Goodale signed off on the memorandum on Oct. 24, 2016.
The documents were disclosed under the freedom of information act in July 2017.
In a letter directing Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, to approve the request, Goodale writes that “CAF assistance to the RCMP would only be required occasionally.”
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He adds that it would only be requested once a vessel was identified as being a potential irregular marine arrival and escorted into a Canadian port for detailed processing by CBSA.
The specific needs of the Canadian Border Service Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including what resources may be requested, what they could be used for and why they need them, are redacted in the provided documents.
“The type of assistance requested differs by department,” reads the document.
The documents indicate that the ability to allow the army to assist the CBSA and RCMP was authorized under subsection 273.6 (2) of the National Defence Act.
Unless re-authorized, the power is set to expire Dec. 31, 2017.
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