Former Mountie Kevin Brosseau named fentanyl czar in reply to Trump’s tariff threats
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OTTAWA — The Liberal government has named Kevin Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, to be the federal point person on fighting the spread of deadly fentanyl.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Brosseau’s role as fentanyl czar will involve working closely with U.S. counterparts to accelerate Canada’s efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle the illicit trade in the drug.
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A statement Tuesday from the Prime Minister’s Office said Brosseau’s demonstrated expertise tackling drug trafficking, organized crime networks and other national security threats “will bring tremendous value to this position.”
During his more than 20 years in the RCMP, Brosseau served as a deputy commissioner and the senior Mountie in Manitoba.
More recently, he was a senior official in the transport and fisheries departments before becoming deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose steep tariffs on all goods from Canada, citing the southbound flow of migrants and illegal drugs including fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid.
After Trudeau explained details of Canada’s plans to beef up the border, Trump agreed to a month-long pause on the tariffs while the two work on a new economic arrangement.
The statement Tuesday said while less than one per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, “any amount of fentanyl is too much.”
“Fentanyl is a lethal drug that has torn apart communities and families across Canada and the United States,” the statement said. “The scourge of fentanyl must be wiped from the face of the Earth, its production must be shut down, and its profiteers must be punished.”
Ottawa outlined a $1.3-billion plan in December to bolster security and surveillance at the Canada-U.S. border.
It recently announced additional plans to appoint the fentanyl czar and to list organized crime cartels as terrorist organizations.
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