Thank you.
First of all, I would like to thank the committee for this opportunity to speak on the Canada-United States Cross-Border Crime Forum.
With your indulgence, I will take a few minutes to provide an overview of the Canada-United States Cross-Border Crime Forum, or CBCF, its mandate and evolution to date. I will also discuss briefly an overview of its past and current work.
The CBCF, which was created in 1997, serves to advance bilateral cooperation in the areas of law enforcement, criminal justice and intelligence issues. Strengthening the ties between our two countries on these issues is extremely important, not only in terms of enhancing domestic public safety, but also regional and international security.
Through the CBCF, we have built strong partnerships and increased awareness of Canadian and U.S. justice and law enforcement systems across the border. In short, the CBCF helps advance Canada-U.S. cooperation on the entire spectrum of cross-border crime issues and encourages effective coordination between law enforcement and justice communities across the border. It facilitates the resolution of impediments to effective law enforcement and prosecution of cross-border crimes. As part of this work, a number of CBCF subgroups study national and binational issues that help advance the fight against cross-border criminality.
In order to further cross-border law enforcement cooperation, the CBCF Ministerial Forum brings together over 120 senior law enforcement and justice officials from participating organizations in Canada and the U.S. The Minister of Public Safety co-chairs the CBCF, along with the Canadian Minister of Justice and the U.S. Attorney General. CBCF subgroups meet continually and work on an ongoing basis throughout the year leading up to what is delivered and presented at the Ministerial Forum.
The mandate for the CBCF, the Cross-Border Crime Forum, is to serve as a forum in which Canadian and United States law enforcement and justice officials from the federal, state, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments can identify major issues and national policy priorities related to transnational crime and terrorism.
With respect to the evolution of the CBCF, the first forum held in Ottawa, in 1997, was organized to discuss the issues of cigarette smuggling, which was a concern on the Canadian side of the border at the time, and mass marketing fraud, which was a particular concern on the U.S. side of the border. At this early stage, the forum was essentially an exchange of names and phone numbers so that officials would know who to talk to in the other country.
After September 11, 2001, however, the Canada-U.S. Smart Border Declaration renewed our countries' joint commitment to enhancing cooperation on border management. As a result, the Cross-Border Crime Forum benefited from a high level of activity and increased attention on both sides of the border.
Since its inception, the forum has expanded to address broader law enforcement and national security issues, including illicit drugs, counter-terrorism, identity theft, firearms trafficking, mass marketing fraud, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime, to name a few.
The forum, despite its broader scope, continues to focus on developing best practices and concrete tools to resolve operational, policy, and legal challenges that may hinder the ability of law enforcement and justice officials to reduce cross-border crime.
Ongoing collaboration has helped us to forge countless working relationships across the border and to strengthen the relationships between organizations in both countries. It's important to note that the CBCF also provides an opportunity for the Canadian ministers of public safety and justice and the U.S. Attorney General to offer direction and guidance for future efforts of the working groups. In this sense, the annual ministerial meeting is the culmination of the Cross-Border Crime Forum's ongoing activities throughout the year.
The agenda for each ministerial forum is developed jointly by Canada and the U.S., and is designed to address ongoing initiatives and emerging challenges in cross-border criminality.
The forum has served as a useful vehicle to undertake several intelligence-based initiatives, such as joint threat assessments on drugs, firearms trafficking, migrant smuggling, organized crime groups, and joint action plans to address shared concerns. Some of the more notable discussions that have taken place within the CBCF relate to operations of integrated border enforcement teams, which you will hear about from my colleagues in a few minutes.
Last March, Canada hosted the tenth CBCF in Quebec City. Some of the main deliverables coming out of that CBCF included “United States-Canada Border Drug Threat Assessment 2007”, “Canada-United States IBET Threat Assessment 2007”, and a five-year Canada-U.S. report on mass marketing fraud, as well as a public advisory on counterfeit cheques.
Turning to our current work plan, the next CBCF is scheduled for the fall of 2009 in the U.S., with a date and location yet to be determined. We're at the very early planning stages for that next meeting.
The CBCF, as mentioned, is driven by the work plans of several subgroups, including the border enforcement subgroup, which is currently working on establishing new radio interoperability pilot projects, and finalizing the integrated maritime cross-border law enforcement operations framework agreement, commonly known as “Shiprider”.
The counter-terrorism subgroup is exploring personnel exchanges and other means of enhancing cooperation between the RCMP and FBI, as well as joint investigations on terrorism financing.
The drugs and organized crime working group is exploring RCMP participation in the U.S.-led joint inter-agency task force in Asia west, and is considering developing a threat assessment model that utilizes current threat assessments from the RCMP, DEA, and FBI to more effectively address operational needs and ensure efficiencies between agencies, as well as analyzing emerging technologies and challenges to law enforcement.
The firearms trafficking group is working on implementing the real-time exchange of forensic ballistic data and updating the 2006 cross-border firearms trafficking overview.
The mass marketing fraud working group continues to work on the joint targeting of top echelon criminal organizations, based on recent threat assessments, and identifying new areas for future public advisories.
Finally, the prosecution subgroup is working on developing guides to assist and facilitate extradition requests, MLATs, and access to information required for prosecutions related to cross-border crime.
In conclusion, the CBCF is a testament to the continued strong and collaborative relationship that augments the safety and security of our citizens. As new and innovative cross-border law enforcement and justice initiatives advance through the CBCF, they help combat transnational crime along our shared border.
While the CBCF does not replace bilateral mechanisms that are in place, it does provide a meaningful forum in which a broad spectrum of issues can be brought to the forefront.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for this opportunity to appear before you today. Of course, I will be happy to stay and answer your questions.