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INFO ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 000834 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR CA
SUBJECT: Canada: 2009-2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy 
Report, Part I 
 
¶1. . (U)  Summary 
 
In 2009, Canada continued to implement its National Anti-Drug 
Strategy, involving three action plans to reduce the supply of and 
demand for illicit drugs as well as associated crime.  Canada 
remains a country of concern due to the amount of MDMA (3, 
4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as Ecstasy) and 
marijuana crossing into the U.S. from Canada.  While Canada's 
passage of several additional regulations in recent years has 
reduced the large scale diversion of bulk precursor chemicals 
across the border, trafficking of marijuana and Ecstasy continues 
at high levels.  In July, Canadian law enforcement authorities made 
one of the largest heroin seizures in Canadian history.  Canada's 
demand reduction efforts include a national awareness campaign 
targeted at youth and their parents, with a strong message 
discouraging drug use.  However, local and provincial authorities 
have embarked on a number of so-called "harm-reduction" programs, 
including a drug injection site and distribution of drug 
paraphernalia to chronic users.  The federal government continues 
to deliver a sharp message against these local and provincial 
programs, which is in line with the International Narcotics Control 
Board's recommendation for the Government of Canada to eliminate 
drug injection sites and drug paraphernalia distribution programs, 
stating that they violated international drug control treaties. 
Canada and the U.S. cooperate in counternarcotics efforts through 
increased information sharing and joint operations.  Canada is a 
member of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and party to the 1988 
UN Drug Convention. 
 
¶2. (U)  Status of Country 
 
Like most developed countries, Canada's major narcotics problem is 
primarily drug consumption, but it is also a significant producer 
of methamphetamine and marijuana; it is also a major source country 
for Ecstasy to US markets as well as a transit or diversion point 
for precursor chemicals used to produce illicit synthetic drugs 
(notably Ecstasy). The marijuana industry's production and 
distribution are sophisticated and diverse, while Ecstasy 
production continues to grow. 
 
¶3. (U)  Country Actions against Drugs in 2009 
 
¶A.  Policy Initiatives. 
 
In August, Canada announced the Synthetic Drug Initiative (SDI), 
the first Canadian drug strategy to focus on a single class of 
drugs.  Though still in the "strategic concept" phase, the Royal 
Canadian Mounted Police-led program's eventual goal is to eliminate 
illegal synthetic drug production and distribution in Canada, and 
reduce the overall influence of organized crime on drug trafficking 
in Canada.  SDI targets the illicit synthetic drug industry on 
three fronts; enforcement, deterrence, and prevention. It also aims 
to inhibit the diversion of precursor chemicals from foreign and 
domestic sources. 
 
 
 
The RCMP will pay for the SDI through National Anti-Drug Strategy 
funds and by re-allocating existing resources.  The RCMP has not 
announced a budget for SDI, but says that funds will be allocated 
to domestic and international programs, including modernizing the 
RCMP's chemical diversion program, hiring new personnel, and 
improving training and awareness initiatives. 
 
In 2007, the Canadian government committed about $95 million in 
funding over five years to support its National Anti-Drug 
Strategy's Enforcement Action plan, which provides for the hiring 
of additional police and prosecutors for counternarcotics teams 
involved in identifying and closing down grow operations and drug 
manufacturing sites, and enhancing the capabilities of the Canadian 
Border Services Agency (CBSA) to stop drugs at the border. 
 
Introduced in 2007, the National Anti-Drug Strategy enhanced the 
"proceeds of crime" program, enabling the government to seize funds 
and assets acquired through the sale of illicit drugs.  In 
addition, the government committed new funding of about $29 million 
over five years to support a Prevention Action Plan, as well as 
approximately $95 million in new funding over five years to support 
a Treatment Action Plan. 
 
In June, the House of Commons passed new legislation (Bill C-15) on 
mandatory minimum penalties for serious drug offenders.  As of 
November, the bill remains under consideration by the Senate.  C-15 
provides mandatory one and two-year minimum jail sentences for 
various offenses including production, trafficking, possession for 
the purposes of trafficking, importing and exporting, and 
possession for the purposes of exporting of illegal drugs.  The 
bill also provides for additional, aggravated penalties when 
 
OTTAWA 00000834  002 OF 005 
 
 
offenses are carried out for organized crime purposes or if they 
involve youth. 
 
¶B.  Law Enforcement Efforts.  In 2009, Canadian and U.S. law 
enforcement agencies' bilateral efforts resulted in significant 
interdictions of narcotics arriving in Canada and the U.S. by air, 
passenger vehicle, truck, small aircraft, and ship, as well as 
seizures from Canadian drug production operations.  Seized drugs 
included marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, hashish, and 
Ecstasy. 
 
On December 8, 2008, Canadian authorities received information that 
led to the seizure of 276 kilograms of cocaine from a container 
ship.  The shipment arrived at the Port of St. John, New Brunswick 
from Guyana, destined for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  The 
Canadian investigation led to the identification of another ship in 
the Caribbean carrying a similar container.  On December 23, 2008, 
DEA, ICE, and CBP, with the assistance of the U.S. Virgin Island 
Police, seized in the Port of St. Croix 100 kilograms of cocaine 
concealed in a container that was destined for Canada. 
 
On January 25, 2009, a multi-agency operation led to an outbound 
seizure of 24 kilograms of cocaine by CBP Officers at the Rouses 
Point Port of Entry in Rouses Point, NY.  The cocaine was destined 
to be smuggled into Canada from the United States. 
 
During February and March 2009, a coordinated effort by DEA, RCMP, 
and U.S. federal and local law enforcement agencies led to the 
arrest of nine individuals and the seizure of 750 pounds of 
marijuana, over 80 kilograms of cocaine, 240,000 tabs of Ecstasy, 
six weapons, and two helicopters.  The targeted drug trafficking 
organization used the helicopters to cross into the U.S. with 
Canadian-sourced marijuana and Ecstasy in exchange for cocaine 
destined for Canada.  This organization was also linked to numerous 
marijuana indoor grow operations and a clandestine laboratory, 
which British Columbia provincial authorities seized in June 2008, 
along with more than 1 million MDMA pills and 168 kilograms of MDMA 
powder. 
 
On July 7, 2009, CBP Officers at the Peace Arch Port of Entry in 
Blaine, WA seized 80.64 kilograms of cocaine and 27.59 kilograms of 
heroin concealed in a passenger vehicle during an outbound 
inspection. 
 
 
 
In July 2009, in a joint operation in the GTA, CBSA, RCMP, Toronto 
Police, and Peel Regional Police seized 117 kilograms of heroin, 
with an estimated street value of $100-million, and more than 
$600,000 in cash, making it one of the largest heroin seizures in 
Canadian history. 
 
The overall trend for 2009 law enforcement efforts continued 
previous trends of joint drug enforcement efforts against steady 
but diverse distribution patterns of traffickers.  However, lack of 
information-sharing among Canadian law enforcement agencies has 
hampered some counternarcotics enforcement efforts.  An RCMP report 
in 2008 revealed that more 60 employees at Canada's 8 largest 
airports had criminal links.  On March 31, Transport Minister John 
Baird ordered his department to fix persistent gaps in airport 
employee screening after Canada's Auditor General also found that 
"high-risk" criminals were still able to obtain security clearances 
at Canadian airports due to the failure of Transport Canada and the 
RCMP to share data.  On April 8, the two agencies signed a new 
information-sharing agreement to conduct expanded criminal 
background checks for workers with access to secure areas at 
Canada's airports. 
 
Canadian officials report unofficially that most of the Ecstasy 
laboratories dismantled in Canada in 2009 were capable of producing 
multi-kilogram quantities.  During 2008, the RCMP dismantled 
approximately 15 Ecstasy laboratories, all of which were capable of 
producing multi-kilogram quantities, as well as 17 methamphetamine 
labs, 13 of which had a multi-kilogram capability. 
 
¶C.  Corruption. Canada has strong anti-corruption controls in place 
and holds its officials and law enforcement personnel to a high 
standard of conduct. Civil servants found to be engaged in 
malfeasance of any kind are subject to prosecution.  Investigations 
into accusations of wrongdoing and corruption by civil servants are 
thorough and credible.  No senior government officials are known to 
engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or 
distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled 
substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug 
transactions.  As a matter of government policy, Canada neither 
encourages nor facilitates illicit production or distribution of 
narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or 
the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. 
 
OTTAWA 00000834  003 OF 005 
 
 
¶D.  Agreements and Treaties. Canada is party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and 
the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. 
Canada is a party to the UN Convention against Corruption and to 
the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its 
protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. 
Canada is also a party to: the Inter-American Convention on Mutual 
Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; the Inter-American Convention 
against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, 
Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials; and, the 
Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. Canada actively 
cooperates with international partners. The U.S. and Canada 
exchange forfeited assets through a bilateral asset-sharing 
agreement, and exchange information to prevent, investigate, and 
prosecute any offense against U.S. or Canadian customs laws through 
a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement.  Canada has in force 50 
bilateral mutual legal assistance treaties and 66 extradition 
treaties.  Judicial assistance and extradition matters between the 
U.S. and Canada operate under a mutual legal assistance treaty 
(MLAT), an extradition treaty, and related protocols, including the 
long-standing Memorandum of Understanding designating DEA and RCMP 
as points of contact for U.S.-Canada drug-related matters. 
 
¶E.  Cultivation/Production.  Criminal groups composed of Canadians 
of East Asian origin (primarily ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese), 
outlaw motorcycle gangs, and Indo-Canadian criminal groups, are the 
most significant illicit drug producers and traffickers in Canada. 
Overall, Canada supplies a small proportion of the marijuana 
consumed in the U.S., however, large-scale marijuana cultivation 
exists in Canada.  Legal sanctions for growers are less severe than 
in the United States, and it remains a significant domestic concern 
in Canada.  Organized crime organizations use 
technologically-advanced organic growing methods.  Large-scale 
marijuana grow operations are primarily located in British 
Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec provinces.  According to the Ontario 
Association of Chiefs of Police, 85 percent of marijuana growing 
operations in Ontario are linked to organized crime.  Marijuana 
traffickers rely on profits from marijuana distribution to expand 
their involvement into other profitable illicit drug activities, 
such as expanding Ecstasy and methamphetamine production. 
 
Organized crime dominates the methamphetamine trade. Criminal 
groups composed of Canadians of East Asian origin operate 
large-scale methamphetamine labs that are capable of producing at 
least 10 pounds of methamphetamine per cycle throughout the 
country.  According to the 2009Annual Report on Organized Crime 
prepared by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC), organized 
crime groups in Canada conduct large-scale ecstasy production and 
distribution operations to supply the domestic market, and Canada 
remains one of the top producers of ecstasy to the global illicit 
drug market.  Precursor chemicals for the production of ecstasy are 
smuggled into Canada from source countries such as China and India 
on a regular basis. 
 
Increased smuggling from Canada to the United States included both 
Ecstasy and combination tablets containing methamphetamine and 
other synthetic drugs.  In 2008-2009, Canadian authorities' 
seizures of clandestine labs capable of producing large amounts of 
combination tablets remained at approximately the same level as in 
the previous reporting period in 2007-2008. 
 
¶F.  Drug Flow/Transit. The CISC's 2009 Annual Report on Organized 
Crime in Canada estimated approximately 750 organized crime groups 
in the country, of which most are involved in the illegal drug 
trade in some capacity. Rising methamphetamine production in Canada 
could led to increased distribution in the U.S., particularly by 
polydrug traffickers, such as many Asian criminal groups and outlaw 
motorcycle gangs, using established Ecstasy or marijuana 
distribution networks. 
 
¶G.  Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. Local and provincial 
authorities maintain a number of so-called "harm-reduction" 
programs.  In 2003, the federal Department of Health (Health 
Canada) granted Vancouver "Coastal Health" a three-year exemption 
from the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to establish 
North America's first supervised injection site research pilot 
project ("Insite").  British Colombia provincial judicial 
authorities are resisting federal government efforts to close 
Insite.  In May 2008, the British Columbia provincial Supreme Court 
ruled that the federal government does not have the constitutional 
authority to close Insite, which the Court considered a health 
facility and within provincial jurisdiction.  The British Columbia 
provincial Court of Appeal heard the government's appeal in April 
2009, but  as of November, the Court is still deliberating on its 
judgment.  Several cities, including Toronto and Ottawa, have also 
approved programs to distribute drug paraphernalia, including crack 
pipes, to chronic users. 
 
OTTAWA 00000834  004 OF 005 
 
 
The UN International Narcotics Control Board's (INCB) 2007 Report 
noted that the Vancouver Island Health Authority's approval of 
"safer crack kits," including the mouthpiece and screen components 
of pipes for smoking "crack," contravened Article 13 of the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention, to which Canada is a party. The INCB called upon 
the Government of Canada to eliminate drug injection sites and drug 
paraphernalia distribution programs, stating that they violated 
international drug control treaties. While Health Canada provides 
funding for drug treatment services, other programs such as 
delivery of demand reduction, education, treatment, and 
rehabilitation are primarily the responsibility of the provincial 
and territorial governments. 
 
Canada's Anti-Drug Strategy includes a national awareness campaign 
targeted at youth and their parents, with a strong message 
discouraging drug use. Additional funding provides for modernized 
and new treatment services as well as improving their availability 
and effectiveness, more money for the provinces and territories to 
expand treatment programs for addicted youth, and funding for a 
National Youth Intervention Program to enable police to enroll 
young drug users more quickly into assessment and treatment 
programs instead of detention. 
 
¶4. (U)  U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
¶A.  Bilateral Cooperation. The U.S. and Canada have continued 
information sharing and binational cooperation through the 
Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF), Integrated Border Enforcement 
Teams (IBET), Border Enforcement Security Teams (BEST), and other 
fora.  At the CBCF's Spring Ministerial in March 2008, U.S. and 
Canadian officials jointly released the 2007 U.S.-Canada Border 
Drug Threat Assessment as a snapshot of cross-border narcotics 
issues and trends.  The CBCF is scheduled to do its next update for 
release in 2011.  The inter-agency forum also addressed 
counterterrorism, mass marketing fraud, human trafficking, 
organized crime, border enforcement, drug trafficking, and firearms 
smuggling - a particular concern for Canada. Provincial, state, and 
local governments also participate in the CBCF, as do police at the 
federal, state/provincial, and local/municipal levels. CBCF working 
groups met throughout the year to develop joint strategies and 
initiatives and collaborative law enforcement operations that were 
highlighted during the Ministerial meeting. Canada also regularly 
attends the annual National Methamphetamine Chemical Initiative 
(NMCI) meeting in the U.S. 
 
In September, DEA conducted a five-day seminar in Montreal on asset 
forfeiture and money laundering for 40 members from various law 
enforcement agencies.  In spring 2009, DEA Vancouver and El Paso 
Intelligence Center personnel offered training at a Canadian law 
enforcement pipeline school to more than 400 Canadian officers. 
Canada has also participated in supporting naval interdiction 
efforts as part of Joint Interagency Task Force South, including 
during 2009. DEA, CBP, ICE, CBSA, RCMP, and U.S. state, local, and 
tribal and Canadian provincial officers consult regularly and 
maintain channels of communication in the field and at management 
level to ensure a high level of cooperation and effectiveness. 
 
On September 30, the Canadian government tabled in the House of 
Commons the Framework Agreement on Integrated Cross-Border Maritime 
Law Enforcement Operations ["Shiprider"] between the Canada and the 
U.S.  The two countries signed the framework agreement in Detroit, 
Michigan, on May 26, 2009.  Once Canada passes implementing 
legislation, the agreement will allow the exchange of shipriders 
and seamless maritime law enforcement operations across the 
U.S.-Canadian maritime border.   The program will facilitate more 
effective maritime counter-smuggling efforts by designating 
officers from each country to operate from one another's vessels or 
aircraft. 
 
¶B.  The Road Ahead. The U.S. and Canada will continue to cooperate 
in joint operations combating U.S.-Canada drug trafficking. The 
CBCF will continue to serve as a forum for senior law enforcement, 
justice, and homeland security officials to enhance and encourage 
intelligence sharing, investigative collaboration, and joint 
training opportunities. CBCF working groups will meet throughout 
the year to develop joint strategies and initiatives including 
threat assessments and collaborative operations. 
 
Canada's continued role as a source country for Ecstasy to U.S. 
markets highlights the need for greater cooperation in tracking 
precursor chemical activity. The U.S. urges Canada to take stronger 
action to curb the rise of methamphetamine production. The upsurge 
in Canadian methamphetamine production has raised the prospect of 
increased smuggling from Canada to international markets. Both 
Canada and the U.S. will seek improvements in their enforcement 
capacity and regulatory frameworks to promote industry compliance 
and avoid diversion of precursor chemicals and lab equipment for 
 
OTTAWA 00000834  005 OF 005 
 
 
criminal use. A more effective and expansive inspection regime, in 
conjunction with expedited investigations and prosecutions, would 
also strengthen enforcement efforts. The government of Prime 
Minister Stephen Harper has reiterated its commitment to increased 
penalties for illicit drug production and trafficking, but not for 
drug use. 
 
Canada, or, as appropriate, municipalities such as Vancouver and 
Ottawa, should implement the INCB's recommendations to eliminate 
drug injection sites and drug paraphernalia distribution programs 
because they violate international drug control treaties. The U.S. 
and Canada will continue to work together to make operational the 
Integrated Marine Security Operations program. The U.S. will 
continue to seek reciprocal agreement for U.S. federal maritime law 
enforcement officers to carry their weapons while transiting 
through Canadian waters. 
 
The U.S. and Canada share common objectives of reducing the supply 
and consumption of illicit drugs and the serious consequences that 
they pose to our communities, particularly vulnerable youth. The 
U.S. and Canada plan to renew the joint U.S.-Canada border drug 
threat assessment, which the two governments update every three 
years, and to continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a 
wide range of working groups and forums. 
JACOBSON