Thank you for the question.
When I worked for Health Canada, I was assigned to the Strategic Planning and Policy Office. I was Health Canada's representative on the interdepartmental working group on tobacco taxation and smuggling, which had been set up by Allan Rock, the then Minister of Health. Also represented were Justice Canada, Revenue Canada, Finance Canada and Health Canada. Everyone was represented. At the time, I was in charge of coordinating the Treasury Board submission pursuant to which $480 million was allocated between 2001 and 2006 for tobacco control.
I recall asking RCMP officials how much money their organization needed to fight smuggling. They told me that it was not a matter of money and that smuggling could not be controlled. That was nine years ago, and today they are still saying the same things in their press releases. At most, they can seize 5% of known contraband products. They know that about 105 criminal groups are involved in the contraband trade of tobacco and other products. They are unable to stop or control the contraband trade.
As I mentioned, only one study has been done and it found that these products are being consumed by people who are of legal age. Some people became offended and decided that they no longer wanted to see flavoured products on store shelves. However, there is no reason to ban these products, because that would only add to the contraband problems we already have and which we know cannot be controlled. RCMP officials have been telling us for the past nine years that they will never get the upper hand on the contraband trade.