The Ottawa Citizen: Joint Operations

Canada Border Services Agencys Ottawa Hierarchy Dept: Almost a year after the Canada Border Services Agencys Ottawa hierarchy halted joint operations with police forces across the country, the Ottawa Citizen has learned Montreal agency managers twice refused to join a multi-force anti-terrorism search last month after intelligence reports indicated cyanide and other dirty-bomb materials were stashed in a trailer at a Montreal storage yard, according to Winnipeg Free Press. According to a Customs and Immigration union official, leaders of the rare and potentially dangerous operation were desperate for customs officers high-tech equipment and expertise in container searches, so they appealed to the "ministerial level in Ottawa" and got a reversal of the decision and a dirty-bomb alert involving armed Montreal customs agents has reignited a bitter dispute over whether Canadas border services personnel should be allowed to take part in joint operations with other law enforcement agencies. Local CBSA managers declined the request from leaders of the joint armed forces, RCMP and Quebec provincial and Montreal city police emergency force for fear of contravening their bosses "no co-operation" edict laid down last December. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.