Nearly a dozen Manitoba conservation officers redeployed to help secure U.S. border
Officers to alert law enforcement of potential illegal activity, help vulnerable migrants, premier says
Manitoba has unveiled details of a plan to send additional resources to the U.S. border as the province primes itself for the impacts of a second Donald Trump presidency north of the 49th parallel.
About 11 conservation officers began conducting patrols at the border in recent weeks, Premier Wab Kinew said in a news conference near Emerson, Man., on Monday.
The premier had announced the province was sending the officers last month in an effort to placate Trump, who's threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S. unless the country cracks down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
On Monday, Kinew said the move sends the message to the U.S. the province is serious about keeping the border secure, but it also answers a humanitarian call.
Observers have warned Trump's mass deportation plans may lead to a surge of migrants crossing into Canada on foot. RCMP said earlier this month six people had been taken into custody after walking across the border only a few days after the president was sworn into office.
"Just recently, we saw people crossing from the U.S. into Canada who did not prepare for the Manitoba winter," Kinew said.
"Part of the humanitarian response is, if you see somebody … we'd been asking for you to help out."
Tariff hotline
The province is also setting up a hotline and website next week to answer Manitobans' questions about trade with the U.S. and how the tariffs might affect them.
"So if you're a business, if you're a worker, somebody who's wondering about what the potential impacts of tariffs could be, you can visit [the hotline]. And we'll be there to ensure that we have quick answers to the questions that you have," Kinew said.
"If there's a specific industry … you're in ag, manufacturing, transportation or whatever, and you've got some very detailed questions you'd like to get answered, we'll make sure that we turn those around within a day."
Kinew has already promised some kind of financial aid for people affected by tariffs and is also calling on Manitobans to shop locally.
"A lot of Manitobans like to do the cross-border shopping thing. But we know that there's a ton of great tourism opportunities in Manitoba," he said.
"There's a lot of great businesses here locally that we can support right now."
'Eyes and ears'
The conservation officers being set up for patrols will be focused on secondary roads and backcountry areas between ports of entry along the border, the province said.
The premier said they will be able to intervene directly when they spot people who are in vulnerable circumstances.
They will have sidearms with them at all times, and rifles and shotguns in their trucks. But Kinew said that in situations involving potential criminal activity, they will only be tasked with alerting the federal authorities responsible for law enforcement.
"What we're asking our officers here … is to just feed that information in, to be that eyes and ears, to help and be part of a co-ordinated response to secure the border," he said.
The usual job of conservation officers is to patrol and enforce the Wildlife Act in the province.
Staffing, training concerns
The Progressive Conservatives have criticized the redeployment, saying it would further stretch resources amid a staff shortage.
Interim leader Wayne Ewasko said Monday that the province should be asking the federal government for more resources at the border — including reinstating service hours that were recently cut at Manitoba's ports of entry.
"This is not a good use of conservation officer time, especially when you're pulling them out of their own jurisdictions," Ewasko said.
The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents the officers, said the province still hasn't provided enough information about how this will affect members.
"When you're redirecting this work, other places may slip.… We really want to make sure that we can balance both," MGEU president Kyle Ross said.
"If they have to add a bunch of duties, I think these workers probably need training. We want to make sure they're safe."
Kinew didn't say what other areas of the job could be subject to less enforcement now that conservation officers will be assisting with border control.
The province said there are currently 78 active conservation officers working in the field. It said about 91 positions out of a full complement of 101 officers have been filled.
Kinew said vacancy rates for conservation officers have improved under his government, but there's still more work to do.
"Absolutely we would like to hire more conservation officers," he said.
"Manitobans are looking for reassurance and are looking for people to protect our province. We're saying that our government is going to protect your jobs and our economy and we're going to ask law enforcement officers … to help securing the border."
Dave Carlson, reeve of Manitoba's Emerson-Franklin municipality just north of the U.S. border, said the move shows the province is using all available resources at the border.
"It's great to help the RCMP out. We know that they are overstretched at this time. Even our local detachment is overstretched," Carlson said during an interview on CBC's Radio Noon.
"We are showing the United States that we're taking our border security very seriously, and that ... it's basically a all-hands-on-deck effort."
The province will provide $360,000 for the redeployment, Kinew said. The government has also set aside $460,000 to pay overtime for provincial RCMP at the border as part of the plan, as well as money for Manitoba's Motor Carrier Enforcement agency, and for the buying of new equipment like snowmobiles.
The budget for the border security plan is just over $1.4 million.
With files from Ian Froese and The Canadian Press