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Silence on U.S. operation in B.C.
By Hempology | August 26, 2002
From the Weekend Edition, August 23rd, 2002
By Paul Willcocks
Maybe they just don’t care up in Ottawa that U.S. agents feel free to enter Canada
illegaly, break our laws and then conceal the evidence from the courts here.
For a week I’ve been trying to get someone – anyone – in the federal government to describe
Canada’s response to a B.C. court ruling that U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operatives
knowingly broke our laws.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janice Dillon found the Americans knowingly snuck into Canada,
ran an illegal operation and then tried to conceal their activities from the court – a
shocking abuse of Canadian law, she called it.
“The illegal conduct is extremely offensive because of the violation of Canadian
soverignty without explanation or apology,” she wrote.
Talking to the federal government from B.C. is generally like shouting down a long, hollow
tube to a deaf man. But Ottawa should have a response when a foreign government walks all
over its police and laws, especially when that foreign government is seeking to have more and
more of its agents operating in Canada.
Dillon was ruling on a U.S. bid to extradite Brent “Dave” Licht to California to face
cocaine charges, the end of a saga that wanders a long, winding path from the DEA office
in Los Angeles to a White Rock pier.
The DEA plan originally targeted would-be Canadian cocaine importers. Two paid informants
were told to pretend to be Colombian drug dealers in Los Angeles with lots of cocaine to
sell. They found some interested buyers, and set off on a trail that led to Vancouver.
They wanted to follow that trail across the border.
The rules governing a DEA operation in Canada are clear. A U.S.-Canada agreement requires
the DEA to get RCPT consent. They also needed a special permit from the immigration minister
because the undercover agent had a criminal record. And they needed approval from the RCMP’s
top narcotics officer to pretend they had drugs for sale.
The tactic is illegal in Canada except under tight controls, because of the risk of injustice.
When police approach potential buyers, they may be creating a crime that would never have
happened without their instigation.
The mounties said yes and the phone dealer and his DEA handler came up. But his efforts
bombed; no big drug dealers were discovered. The DEA wanted to try again, but the RCMP
said no. They had higher priorities.
The DEA seemed to accept the decision. But a month later one of the undercover agents enetered
Canada illegaly, and ignoring our law and agreements signed by his country, tried to make
a drug deal.
Eventually a pretend deal in California was arranged, with Licht. He wasn’t there for the
buy, so the U.S. set out to extradite him on conspiracy charges. That’s what led to Dillon’s
ruling.
The Americans knowingly broke Canadian law and violated international agreements, she
found. They conducted an illegal reverse sting operation. They tried to conceal the information
from the court. And they never offered any explanation for the illegal acts.
I expected the run-around from American officials. But surely the Canadian government would
have a response to the damaging findings. But it two two days for a spokesman for Justice
Minister Martin Cauchon to say he had no comment, although he was considering an appeal -
on behalf of the Americans.
After more than a week of calls, Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay’s staff still haven’t
explained whether the case is an abberation, whether it will affect future DEA activities in
Canada, how many legal DEA operations are conducted in B.C. – or even whether they’ve asked
Americans for an accounting for the illegal acts.
Our laws should matter a lot more than that.
Paul Willcocks is a columnist based at the B.C. legislature. He can be reached at
mailto:willcocks@ultranet.ca.
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