Policing powers for U.S. law enforcement
Some critics claim the Integrated Cross Border Law Enforcement Operations Act threatens Canada’s sovereignty by giving U.S. law enforcement officials the same policing powers as their Canadian counterparts while north of the border. Although the legislation only applies to waterways shared by the U.S. and Canada, many fear a land-based version of the policy will have further ramifications. SFU international security expert Andre Gerolymatos says the legislation is necessary to fight crime. “It’s a major price to pay because to some degree we are compromising our sovereignty, however, the nature of crime and security has become such that we have no choice but to cooperate with our neighbours to the south. The alternative is spending a great deal more amount of money on security.”

Andre Gerolymatos, 604.728.2712, agerolym@sfu.ca