Cross-Border Firearms Taskforce
Date: December 10, 2021
Study: Gun Control
Classification: Unclassified
Branch/Agency: IEB
- When leaders from Canada and the United States last met in February 2021 and unveiled the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, both countries committed to re-establishing the Cross-Border Crime Forum to tackle challenges such as the illegal cross-border flow of firearms.
- In support of this common objective, Canada and the U.S. have formed the Canada-United States Cross Border Firearms Task Force. The mandate of this task force is to tackle illegal movement of firearms through cross-border travel and trade, while ensuring that the movement of essential workers and goods continues unimpeded.
- The Task Force is led in Canada by the CBSA and supported by the RCMP. It includes the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
- The Task Force members are collaborating with relevant domestic and U.S. law enforcement agencies to combat the threat posed by smuggled firearms, firearms parts, and devices prohibited from export or import, as well as to target the organized crime networks and the activity enabling this movement.
- These efforts will support and inform the work of the Cross-Border Crime Forum by collaborating on cross-border law enforcement challenges to make communities safer.
- After signing the Terms of Reference in August 2021, and the last meeting in November 2021, the Task Force is preparing to undertake various key activities leading up to the issuance of a Joint Border Threat Assessment in Spring 2022.
- This Threat Assessment will enable and guide further joint activities to identify and interdict the smuggling of illicit firearms, and disrupt and prosecute organized crime.
CBSA-ATF Relationship:
- The CBSA has been working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will allow direct information-sharing.
- Currently, the CBSA is unable to directly share information with the ATF. To do so, an intermediary, such as the RCMP, must be used. The new MOU will allow for the timely sharing of information and give both partners the ability to act quickly in regard to border-related activities involving firearms and/or firearms-related materials
- In the interim, the CBSA is engaging with the ATF in several ways. For instance, through the CBSA’s Firearms Strategy and the direct engagement with local police forces, the CBSA is able to leverage ATF’s data and intelligence through local partnerships. Also, since the ATF is a signatory to the Cross Border Firearms Task Force, the CBSA is working closely with them on various initiatives.
- If pressed on information sharing with the ATF:
- Existing information sharing frameworks between the CBSA and the US in relation to customs information fall within the parameters of three instruments:
- A Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) for the exchange of customs information
- a Statement of Mutual Understanding (SMU) for the exchange of traveller information; and
- a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) for the exchange of criminal evidence.
- Although all of these agreements are between Canada and the U.S., the CMAA and SMU only allow for the direct sharing of information between the CBSA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while the MLAT is used only in conjunction with criminal proceedings.
- The CBSA uses a third party to share information with the ATF and DEA, relying on the RCMP, CBP, and ICE.
- The CBSA has an ongoing need to share information with the ATF and DEA, regarding matters relevant to the shared mandates.
- Direct information sharing between the CBSA, the DEA, and the ATF would allow for the timely creation of intelligence, as well as the disruption of smugglers and smuggling activities.
Background:
On February 23, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joseph R. Biden met and unveiled the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, detailing commitments on various issues, including combatting firearms smuggling. Specifically, the roadmap outlined efforts to enhance law enforcement collaboration between the U.S. and Canada, including the reestablishment of the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF) to strengthen information sharing, address justice reform and cross-border law enforcement challenges to make communities safer.
The President and Prime Minister also noted their common objective to reduce gun violence and directed officials to explore the creation of a cross-border task force to address gun smuggling and trafficking. To help address this challenge, the two countries have formed the Canada-United States Cross Border Firearms Task Force (CBFTF), under the CBCF, to be co-led by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for Canada and jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) within the Department of Justice, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI) within the Department of Homeland Security for the U.S. Both countries intend to work together consistent with their respective domestic laws to identify the primary sources of illicit firearms and to disrupt their flow, and the exchange of illicit commodities for such firearms across the shared border.
- The CBFTF is intended as a forum to scope and identify ways to counter firearms smuggling across the United States-Canadian border.
- CBFTF Members are expected to collaborate with relevant domestic government agencies and international organizations to combat the threat posed by smuggled firearms, firearms parts, and devices prohibited from export or import, as well as target the groups and activities enabling this threat.
- The CBFTF is expected to support and inform the work of the CBCF by considering issues specifically requested by the CBCF as well as recommending issues for CBCF consideration and providing progress updates on its efforts.
- CBFTF Members include senior-level officials with appropriate expertise and security clearance from the ATF, ICE/HSI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the RCMP and the CBSA.
- Terms of Reference for the CBFTF were signed August 12, 2021, and an inaugural meeting was hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on November 10, 2021. The next meeting is scheduled for December 17th.
CBSA-ATF Relationship:
The CBSA has been working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will allow direct information-sharing. Currently, the CBSA is unable to directly share information with the ATF; to do so, an intermediary, such as the RCMP, must be used. This MOU will allow for the timely sharing of information and give both partners the ability to act quickly in regard to border related activities involving firearms and/or firearms-related materials.
The Intelligence and Targeting Partnerships Unit has been working with the U.S. ATF Attaché in Ottawa to identify both partners’ needs. At the moment, the draft MOU is going through the necessary approval processes of the CBSA and it is expected to be shared with the ATF for their review before mid February of 2022. As this is an information-sharing arrangement a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be prepared and submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for approval. It is hoped that the PIA will be ready for submission prior to the end of the 2021–2022 fiscal year, and that once approval is received the MOU will be ready for signature.
In the meantime, the CBSA is able to benefit from ATF data and intelligence through other initiatives such as our direct involvement in the Ontario Provincial Police’s Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit, which ATF is a part of; and through our relationship with the RCMP. In addition, the CBFTF provides another direct linkage to the ATF, as the ATF is a signatory to the Task Force.
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