Good afternoon, and thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you for providing the opportunity to appear before this committee to talk about the RCMP's activities in relation to security at the Canada-U.S. border.

I'm joined here by Chief Superintendent Mathieu Bertrand, director general of federal policing criminal operations, serious and organized crime and border integrity.

I'll begin by providing some background on the RCMP's responsibility and actions with respect to the Canada-U.S. border.

The RCMP's border security functions and authorities are established by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and its regulations, the Customs Act, and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulations.

The RCMP is responsible for protecting Canada's borders between official ports of entry against criminal threats to and from Canada in all modes, whether air, land, sea or Arctic.

To delineate areas of shared responsibility and cooperation in border security, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, have established several memoranda of understanding.

The memoranda of understanding between the CBSA and the RCMP describe in detail the division of responsibilities and specific areas of cooperation and investigative responsibility with respect to border enforcement and the administration of borders, public safety and supporting national security outcomes.

As you are aware, border integrity is a priority for the RCMP. I can assure members of this committee that we continue to work with our portfolio, law enforcement and indigenous partners across the country to ensure that we are prepared to address any border concerns.

The RCMP continues to have regular engagement with its U.S. partners on various fronts, including border integrity, serious and organized crime and issues related to the change in administration, through existing mechanisms and fora.

The RCMP also participates in numerous cross-border initiatives with the U.S. that allow for joint operations and investigations. Highly integrated multimodal cross-border teams investigate criminal threats to the Canada-U.S. border, including irregular migration and human smuggling. These teams allow for shared communications, improved response times to a border incursion and enhanced investigative capacities.

Furthermore, the RCMP has regular engagement with indigenous law enforcement partners through the existing integrated border enforcement teams located in the provinces along the Canada-U.S. border.

The RCMP is aware that cross-border crime goes beyond irregular migration. Canada and the United States are both seized with an overdose crisis that continues to be driven by synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. This crisis continues to have devastating impacts on individuals and communities in both countries.

The RCMP and its partners, such as the CBSA, are committed to addressing this public safety issue and work at all police levels in Canada and abroad. You've recently seen press conferences and news releases on the subject.

One example is the extensive cooperation among the RCMP, the FBI and other partners in the Giant Slalom Project, which targeted large criminal organizations that were producing drugs abroad and then shipping them to Canada and then to the United States; second, a seizure at a port of entry of cocaine being shipped north; and finally, the recent dismantling of several drug labs.

It's essential that the RCMP and law enforcement agencies in the United States work closely together to address threats related to these harmful substances, both at the border and elsewhere.

For example, the RCMP is working with the United States as part of the Trilateral Fentanyl Committee's task force, the North American Dialogue on Drug Policy, the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats and the Canada-United States Joint Action Plan on Opioids.

The fentanyl task force is a bilateral initiative established in 2023. It aims to increase cooperation and information sharing on fentanyl trends, investigations and patterns of use among various law enforcement and federal government agencies, including the RCMP.

Moreover, through the Canada-U.S. opioids action plan, the RCMP regularly collaborates with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, better known as the DEA, by sharing samples of illegal substances in Canada for testing through DEA's drug signature program. This co-operation provides the opportunity for intelligence sharing between our two countries to increase our collective knowledge on drug trends.

We remain confident in the ability of Canadian enforcement agencies to work together to maintain the integrity of the Canada-U.S. border and to enforce Canadian laws.

With that, I would like to again thank the committee for the opportunity to meet with you. I would be pleased to answer any of your questions.

Thank you.

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