A car heads to the U.S. border crossing, Monday, August 9, 2021 in Lacolle, Que., south of Montreal. Canada and the United States are expected to announce enhanced co-operation today in the fight against trafficking of firearms across their shared border. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
OTTAWA – Canada and the United States have agreed to share more information about the smuggling of guns across their shared border.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Ottawa has signed four new or updated agreements with Washington that allow the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to exchange more data with partners south of the border.
Mendicino says the agreements under a rebooted Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Crime Forum will allow more information-sharing with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Mendicino made the announcement this afternoon in Ottawa alongside Justice Minister David Lametti and their American counterparts, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The four have agreed to help stem the flow of opioids such as fentanyl, with Garland saying they aim to track the ingredients used to create the deadly drug and the flow of its components from China.
The newly signed agreements also take aim at untracked firearms used by gangs, which are often called “ghost guns,” as well as the role of cryptocurrency in money laundering.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2023.
– With files from Jim Bronskill.
