Business
U.S. ‘Losing Faith’ in Canada’s Ability to Combat Industrial-Scale Fentanyl

BC Mayor Warns of Asian Organized Crime’s Surprising Access to Canada’s Political Class, Echoing US Agency Concerns
In a high-level meeting in 2023—one participant representing the head of state of the world’s most powerful nation, the other a popular small-town mayor in British Columbia—candid warnings emerged about Canada’s capacity to confront the industrial-scale production of fentanyl. Mayor Brad West, a longstanding critic of transnational drug networks in his province, recalls Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing that Washington believes Beijing is effectively weaponizing fentanyl against North Americans—and that Canada stands out as a worrisome weak link in the global supply chain.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government moved to address growing U.S. alarm by appointing former RCMP deputy commissioner Kevin Brosseau as Canada’s new “fentanyl czar.” Announced as part of an agreement to forestall potential American tariffs in a tense trade dispute, the position mandates “accelerating Canada’s ongoing work to detect, disrupt, and dismantle the fentanyl trade,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Brosseau, who most recently served as deputy national security and intelligence adviser to Trudeau, will work closely with U.S. agencies to tackle a crisis that has claimed tens of thousands of lives across North America. Still, questions remain about whether he has the standing in Washington—and the authority in Ottawa—to enact meaningful reforms.
West, reflecting on his encounter with Blinken, doubts that incremental measures will suffice. He argues that only bold legislative change, coupled with a willingness to challenge entrenched legal barriers, can dispel the U.S. government’s unease over Canada’s approach. “Secretary Blinken specifically noted the lack of a RICO-style law in Canada,” West said. “He talked about how, in the United States, that law had been used to take down large portions of the mafia. Then he looked at us—one of America’s closest allies—and saw a very concerning weak link.”
According to West, Blinken pointed to China’s role in funneling precursor chemicals into fentanyl labs. He warned that China’s government, if inclined, could stem the flow but has little interest in doing so. “He was incredibly candid and very serious about the threat fentanyl poses to North America,” West recalled. “He confirmed the connection between the Chinese Communist Party, the triads, and the Mexican cartels, telling me these groups are working together—and it’s Canada where they’re finding a safe operating base.”
West says American frustration revolves around high-profile law enforcement stumbles in Canada, notably the E-Pirate investigation into Silver International, an alleged underground bank in Richmond, B.C., believed to have laundered more than a billion dollars a year for global syndicates. Touted as a signal that Canadian authorities could clamp down on transnational money laundering, the case nevertheless collapsed with no convictions. “He expressed genuine dismay that we haven’t secured meaningful convictions,” West said, paraphrasing Blinken. “When our most prominent laundering case ends with zero prison time, you can see why the Americans are alarmed.”
Blinken also conveyed to West that U.S. agencies have grown hesitant to share certain intelligence with their Canadian counterparts.
“He told me that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement are withholding some evidence because they don’t believe we’ll act on it,” West explained. “They’ve lost confidence.”
West added that in ongoing communications, he has learned American officials are shocked that major figures in Asian organized crime “seem to have so much access to our political class. They’re basically saying, ‘What’s going on in Canada?’”
A major concern, according to West, is how known criminals manage to appear at political events or fundraisers with little oversight.
“It’s not necessarily that politicians are complicit, but our political structures have weak guardrails,” West said. “The Americans see pictures of transnational criminals mingling at official gatherings and find it baffling.”
West insists that Canada must enact a legal framework akin to the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to truly “detect, disrupt, and dismantle” the fentanyl trade. “We don’t have anything like it, and until we do, I worry the new czar’s hands could be tied by the legal status quo,” West said. “Ottawa might resist, but we need it. We should have enacted it yesterday.”
He also decries what he calls “egregious rulings” that free major traffickers or launderers on technicalities. West cites a prominent British Columbia case in which a suspect found with more than 27,000 fentanyl pills was released because a police dog had not fully performed its required sitting motion before searching a vehicle. “When a decision like that happens, we’re letting criminals exploit minutiae while countless people die,” he said. “We need a government that has the courage to challenge those judicial outcomes.”
In pursuit of that goal, West is willing to suggest the targeted use of the notwithstanding clause, a rare constitutional tool allowing governments to override parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years. Typically employed in language or education disputes, it has scarcely been used in criminal proceedings. “When the Charter is being weaponized by sophisticated organizations, the government should consider all tools,” he insisted. “The right of Canadians not to be killed by a drug of this scale ought to supersede a procedural glitch.”
The severity of the fentanyl crisis in British Columbia, which has seen the majority of Canada’s overdose deaths, offers a striking backdrop for West’s urgings. He emphasizes that the torrent of precursor chemicals from China has supercharged local labs, embedding crime syndicates in global narcotics pipelines. Profits from these vast operations, in his words, flow through real estate, casinos, and underground banks with little interference.
Whether Ottawa has the political will to implement measures as sweeping as a RICO-style statute or invoke the notwithstanding clause remains uncertain. Both actions would require confronting powerful interests and explaining why existing laws have failed to secure convictions against top offenders. But West argues that mounting American impatience has changed the equation. “This is no longer just a Canadian domestic issue,” he said. “Secretary Blinken made it clear that the Biden administration sees fentanyl as an existential threat. They’re building a global coalition and need Canada fully on board. If we don’t show real progress, the U.S. will protect itself by any means—tariffs or otherwise.”
“People have been calling for something like RICO in Canada for years,” West added. “Silver International was the textbook illustration of why we need it. We had it all—massive money laundering, triads with direct links to Mexican cartels tied to fentanyl labs—and it collapsed because our system couldn’t handle a case of that complexity. That can’t keep happening, or else we’ll remain the hub of a deadly trade.”
West also revealed he would have accepted the fentanyl czar position himself if asked. “I love being mayor, but this is one of the biggest challenges facing our country,” he said. “I’d pour my heart into it. It demands relentless follow-through: legislation, expanded police powers, educating the public, and yes, taking on the courts if necessary.”
Whether Brosseau wields enough clout remains to be seen. West hopes the appointment signals a turning point from what he calls “a fragmented, complacent approach” to one that confronts the crisis on all fronts. “I’ve seen too many half-measures,” he said. “But maybe this time it’ll be different. The Americans have made their position crystal clear, and we need to demonstrate that we can protect ourselves. Otherwise, we fail both our citizens and our closest ally.”
West still recalls Blinken’s direct plea: “He basically said, ‘We need a partner we can trust, one that can disrupt these networks and secure convictions,’” West noted. “If Canada doesn’t step up, I believe the Americans will respond in ways that damage our relationship—and meanwhile, we’ll continue losing people to a drug that’s tearing families apart. We just can’t let that happen.”
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Alberta
Pierre Poilievre – Per Capita, Hardisty, Alberta Is the Most Important Little Town In Canada

From Pierre Poilievre
Business
Why it’s time to repeal the oil tanker ban on B.C.’s north coast

The Port of Prince Rupert on the north coast of British Columbia. Photo courtesy Prince Rupert Port Authority
From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Will Gibson
Moratorium does little to improve marine safety while sending the wrong message to energy investors
In 2019, Martha Hall Findlay, then-CEO of the Canada West Foundation, penned a strongly worded op-ed in the Globe and Mail calling the federal ban of oil tankers on B.C.’s northern coast “un-Canadian.”
Six years later, her opinion hasn’t changed.
“It was bad legislation and the government should get rid of it,” said Hall Findlay, now director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
The moratorium, known as Bill C-48, banned vessels carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of oil from accessing northern B.C. ports.
Targeting products from one sector in one area does little to achieve the goal of overall improved marine transport safety, she said.
“There are risks associated with any kind of transportation with any goods, and not all of them are with oil tankers. All that singling out one part of one coast did was prevent more oil and gas from being produced that could be shipped off that coast,” she said.
Hall Findlay is a former Liberal MP who served as Suncor Energy’s chief sustainability officer before taking on her role at the University of Calgary.
She sees an opportunity to remove the tanker moratorium in light of changing attitudes about resource development across Canada and a new federal government that has publicly committed to delivering nation-building energy projects.
“There’s a greater recognition in large portions of the public across the country, not just Alberta and Saskatchewan, that Canada is too dependent on the United States as the only customer for our energy products,” she said.
“There are better alternatives to C-48, such as setting aside what are called Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas, which have been established in areas such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands.”
The Business Council of British Columbia, which represents more than 200 companies, post-secondary institutions and industry associations, echoes Hall Findlay’s call for the tanker ban to be repealed.
“Comparable shipments face no such restrictions on the East Coast,” said Denise Mullen, the council’s director of environment, sustainability and Indigenous relations.
“This unfair treatment reinforces Canada’s over-reliance on the U.S. market, where Canadian oil is sold at a discount, by restricting access to Asia-Pacific markets.
“This results in billions in lost government revenues and reduced private investment at a time when our economy can least afford it.”
The ban on tanker traffic specifically in northern B.C. doesn’t make sense given Canada already has strong marine safety regulations in place, Mullen said.
Notably, completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion in 2024 also doubled marine spill response capacity on Canada’s West Coast. A $170 million investment added new equipment, personnel and response bases in the Salish Sea.
“The [C-48] moratorium adds little real protection while sending a damaging message to global investors,” she said.
“This undermines the confidence needed for long-term investment in critical trade-enabling infrastructure.”
Indigenous Resource Network executive director John Desjarlais senses there’s an openness to revisiting the issue for Indigenous communities.
“Sentiment has changed and evolved in the past six years,” he said.
“There are still concerns and trust that needs to be built. But there’s also a recognition that in addition to environmental impacts, [there are] consequences of not doing it in terms of an economic impact as well as the cascading socio-economic impacts.”
The ban effectively killed the proposed $16-billion Eagle Spirit project, an Indigenous-led pipeline that would have shipped oil from northern Alberta to a tidewater export terminal at Prince Rupert, B.C.
“When you have Indigenous participants who want to advance these projects, the moratorium needs to be revisited,” Desjarlais said.
He notes that in the six years since the tanker ban went into effect, there are growing partnerships between B.C. First Nations and the energy industry, including the Haisla Nation’s Cedar LNG project and the Nisga’a Nation’s Ksi Lisims LNG project.
This has deepened the trust that projects can mitigate risks while providing economic reconciliation and benefits to communities, Dejarlais said.
“Industry has come leaps and bounds in terms of working with First Nations,” he said.
“They are treating the rights of the communities they work with appropriately in terms of project risk and returns.”
Hall Findlay is cautiously optimistic that the tanker ban will be replaced by more appropriate legislation.
“I’m hoping that we see the revival of a federal government that brings pragmatism to governing the country,” she said.
“Repealing C-48 would be a sign of that happening.”
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