Thank you, John.
Thank you to committee members for inviting us here today to discuss the important issue of organized crime in our communities.
I'll keep my comments very brief. I just want to touch on a couple of key areas.
I'm the officer in charge of border integrity. It's one of the federal programs of the RCMP here in Manitoba. I have the pleasure of working in my home province, having transferred here in 2008 following postings in Ottawa and throughout Saskatchewan. I've been working in the organized crime intelligence field since 2002.
As my colleague Inspector Ferguson has referenced, organized criminal groups are very active in Manitoba, and present us with incredible challenges in keeping our communities safe. I would, however, like to reference my opening comments in relation to organized crime's activities through our shared border with the United States.
As you no doubt have heard from others, organized crime impacts all communities in this province, from the city of Winnipeg to our smallest of communities. The vast rural areas of our province are not immune to this threat. In fact, organized crime has evolved, and effectively operates in many of our small rural communities, hamlets, and villages.
A good example of this was in 2005, near the southern Manitoba community of Sundown, which is but a few kilometres north of the U.S. border, just south of Winnipeg here, where our Red River integrated border enforcement team uncovered a significant organized crime network operating near the community. The resulting investigation--code-named Project Determine--was conducted jointly with our American colleagues, and resulted in the dismantling of a sophisticated very large-scale marijuana grow op being run by a nation-based organized crime group from Ontario with ties to British Columbia. The resulting investigation resulted in 37 arrests, with the seizure of over 28,000 marijuana plants and 5,500 pounds of marijuana bud, all valued at over $39 million.
While the need to integrate our investigations with our domestic and international colleagues is necessary, working within an integrated or sharing environment is not without its challenges. Specifically, certain legislative restrictions and the interpretation thereof are having a negative impact on our ability to share information with both domestic and specifically international partners. We require a legislative scheme that is clear with respect to the sharing of criminal intelligence so as to facilitate more effective and efficient investigations against organized crime.
In Manitoba, our shared border with the United States is a vast area, spanning 460 kilometres, with a sprinkling of small communities, lakes, swamps, and forests. Organized criminal groups recognize the advantage of operating in this area, as the risk of detection to their activities is minimal. In addition, the close proximity to the U.S. is attractive to them, given its large population, the many potential consumers of their illicit goods, and, more importantly, the ready access to all types of firearms, which is the number one tool of organized criminals.
It's in this area that the RCMP in Manitoba operates an integrated border enforcement team jointly with Canadian Border Services Agency, as well as the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Together we are searching to identify and disrupt criminality and national security threats at and between our ports of entry.
Organized crime exists for one purpose, and that's for money. It's about greed, corruption, and the power that comes with it. Many organized crime groups are diversifying away from high-risk, high-return activities, such as drug trafficking, to low-risk activities while still maintaining the high returns.