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Ottawa Strangely Silent on DEA
PBQNews.com ^ | 20 August 2002 | Paul Willcocks

Posted on 08/26/2002 12:43:29 AM PDT by JediGirl

Maybe they just don't care up in Ottawa that U.S. agents feel free to enter Canada illegally, break our laws and then conceal the evidence from the courts here.

For a week I've been trying to get someone -- anyone -- in the federal government to describe Canada's response to a B.C. court ruling that U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operatives knowingly broke our laws.

B.C Supreme Court Justice Janice Dillon found the Americans knowingly snuck into Canada, ran an illegal operation and then tried to conceal their activities from the court -- a shocking abuse of Canadian law, she called it.

"The illegal conduct is extremely offensive because of the violation of Canadian sovereignty without explanation or apology," she wrote.

Talking to the federal government from B.C. is generally like shouting down a long, hollow tube to a deaf man.

But Ottawa should have a response when a foreign government walks all over its police and laws, especially when that foreign government is seeking to have more and more of its agents operating in Canada.

Dillon was ruling on a U.S. bid to extradite Brent 'Dave' Licht to California to face cocaine charges, the end of a saga that wanders a long, winding path from the DEA office in Los Angeles to a White Rock pier.

The DEA plan originally targeted would-be Canadian cocaine importers. Two paid informants were told to pretend to be Colombian drug dealers in Los Angeles with lots of cocaine to sell. They found some interested buyers, and set off on a trail that led to Vancouver. They wanted to follow that trail across the border.

The rules governing a DEA operation in Canada are clear. A U.S.-Canada agreement requires the DEA to get RCMP consent. They also needed a special permit from the immigration minister because the undercover agent had a criminal record.

And they needed approval from the RCMP's top narcotics officer to pretend they had drugs for sale. The tactic is illegal in Canada except under tight controls, because of the risk of injustice. When police approach potential buyers, they may be creating a crime that would never have happened without their instigation The Mounties said yes and the phony dealer and his DEA handler came up. But his efforts bombed; no big drug dealers were discovered.

The DEA wanted to try again, but the RCMP said no. They had higher priorities. The DEA seemed to accept the decision. But a month later one of the undercover agents entered Canada illegally, and ignoring our law and agreements signed by his country, tried to make a drug deal.

Eventually a pretend deal in California was arranged, with Licht. He wasn't there for the buy, so the U.S. set out to extradite him on conspiracy charges. That's what led to Dillon's ruling. The Americans knowingly broke Canadian law and violated international agreements, she found. They conducted an illegal reverse sting operation. They tried to conceal the information from the court. And they never offered any explanation for the illegal acts. ( This wasn't some fluke. Documents showed that the RCMP felt pressured to approve the first operation quickly, because they feared that the DEA would just go ahead illegally. ) I expected a run-around from American officials. But surely the Canadian government would have a response to the damaging findings.

But it took two days for a spokesman for Justice Minister Martin Cauchon to say he had no comment, although he was considering an appeal -- on behalf of the Americans. After more than a week of calls, Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay's staff still haven't explained whether the case is an aberration, whether it will affect future DEA activities in Canada, how many legal DEA operations are conducted in B.C. -- or even whether they've asked the Americans for an accounting for the illegal acts.

Our law should matter more than that.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: canada; dea; drugs; wod

1 posted on 08/26/2002 12:43:29 AM PDT by JediGirl
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To: WindMinstrel; realpatriot71; Dane; philman_36; Wolfie; Hemingway's Ghost; vin-one; Dakmar; ...
ping....ping....ping....
2 posted on 08/26/2002 12:44:34 AM PDT by JediGirl
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To: JediGirl
LOL! I say build a wall!
3 posted on 08/26/2002 12:50:45 AM PDT by Cold Heat
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To: JediGirl
Ah yes, the War on Drugs screws up again. Don't you just love the DEA's ineptitude, not to mention their illegal activities for the umpteenth time.
4 posted on 08/26/2002 12:54:42 AM PDT by orchid
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To: JediGirl
Haven't you heard? "Then end justifies the means." I know, it's what Hitler and Stalin said--but "this time, it's different!"
5 posted on 08/26/2002 2:08:17 AM PDT by sourcery
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To: JediGirl
Why am I not surprised?

The drug-war warriors don't give a rodent's rectum about the rights of Americans under the U.S. Constitution, so why should we expect them to respect Canadian law?
6 posted on 08/26/2002 2:33:31 AM PDT by Ronin
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To: JediGirl
"Rule of law? We don't need no steenking rule of law."
7 posted on 08/26/2002 4:47:02 AM PDT by Dakmar
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To: Entropy Squared
ping
8 posted on 08/26/2002 8:37:59 AM PDT by B4Ranch
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To: Ronin
An acquaintance of mine has been picketing the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver with a 'DEA out of BC' banner.

Geez, guys couldn't you make your moms happy by being repo men, or aluminum siding salesmen?

There must be some honest job you're qualified for.
9 posted on 08/26/2002 9:49:15 AM PDT by headsonpikes
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To: JediGirl
sounds sorta like the US government's silence on the Mexican units that are crossing our southern border. Weird
10 posted on 08/26/2002 10:05:07 AM PDT by WindMinstrel
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