QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Public Safety
Border Security
April 21, 2026
Minister, on March 19, the Journal de Montréal‘s investigative bureau reported on just how easy it is nowadays for Mexican cartels to smuggle methamphetamine into Canada by train.
The police are doing their job with the resources available to them. They are not the problem. The problem is the system, which always seems to be playing catch-up with criminal organizations without ever closing the real loopholes. Despite the billions of dollars invested, methamphetamine is getting into the country by train.
I have a simple question: Is your department aware of this report and, most importantly, what concrete measures will it take to address this obvious weakness at the border?
Senators, in the past 11 months, I believe I have visited every major port of entry on the water. I have been to many land and rail border crossings as well. Our National Targeting Centre, which is run by the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, plays an integral role in identifying and highlighting those vulnerabilities.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve had unprecedented investment at the border. This includes the $1.3-billion investment for the border program, where increased use of drones, increased scanning technologies — which, incidentally, can scan railcars — new Black Hawk helicopters and other tools have been deployed. We are hiring 1,000 new RCMP personnel and 1,000 new CBSA personnel.
In addition, Bill C-12 offers a number of very important new tools to law enforcement to increase border security, such as outbound searches of vehicles, including rail. So I take note of and am deeply seized with the matter in terms of ensuring that fentanyl and methamphetamine do not travel either north or south. It is a shared vision that we all —
Thank you, minister.
The problem is that the train goes by, and the drone sees the train but doesn’t see the drugs. That’s a problem.
Are you in talks with your American and Mexican counterparts to deal with this together rather than everyone working in isolation?
Absolutely. I’ve had bilateral discussions with both. In fact, as part of both the G7 and the Five Eyes, we have regular encounters with the U.S. Our departments have regularized discussions on a range of issues, including the border.
Senator, if I may, I will invite you, the next time I am in Quebec, to a border crossing, particularly on rail, because there are some things that may not be apparent. Of course, I always have a lot more to learn, and that may be one of the ways that we can ensure that we are doing all we can.
