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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:50 pm
Time: 9:50 pm
Results for illegal trade (canada)
1 results foundAuthor: Daudelin, Jean Title: Border Integrity, Illicit Tobacco, and Canada's Security Summary: T he small town of Cornwall in eastern Ontario can be considered the contraband capital of Canada, thanks to the high volume of cross-border smuggling and illicit trade in the area. The problem has two sources: the unique local geography combined with practical, legal, and political problems that make it easy to bypass border controls; and the tolerance of Canadian and US law enforcement toward the illicit manufacture and sale of tobacco products on the Mohawk territory that straddles the Canada-US border between Ontario, Quebec, and New York State. Much of the local problem revolves around tobacco; however, significant amounts of illegal drugs, weapons, and humans have been trafficked through the area, all of these accounting for a chain of collateral crime in the surrounding region. The gross value of these illegal practices reaches into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Contraband has national security implications for Canada. Tobacco and its trade generate important economic benefits for the Mohawk community that lives on the Akwesasne (Canada) and St. Regis (US) Mohawk reserves that straddle the border. A substantial part of the production and sale is legal, but the Mohawk generally refuse to apply taxes to their legal tobacco products, and they tolerate the illegal production and sale of tobacco. As a result, a direct attack on those activities may provoke confronta- tions, and possibly even a loss of federal control over the border area. In addition, US authorities are preoccupied with the movement of illegal drugs and humans through Cornwall: any measures they take to stem the flow would hurt Canada economically by inhibiting the free circulation of goods and people across the border. Illicit tobacco accounts for about 15 percent of cigarette sales in Canada, a large proportion of which comes through Cornwall. Attempts to constrict that flow have failed. However, the pressure exerted on the trade has helped keep profits much lower than they could have been. Given the sensitive political situation and the overlapping jurisdictions and legal frameworks, enforcement authorities have been remarkably effective in containing broader security fallout. We found little evidence of extensive smuggling of drugs, weapons, and humans in recent years, and the large-scale involvement of organized crime appears to have been curtailed. Tensions with the Mohawk community have been rare, confrontations largely avoided, and a fluid and effective relationship with the Mohawk police on everything but tobacco on reserve has been built. In summary, federal authorities on both sides of the border appear to tolerate the illicit tobacco trade in favour of containing the broader criminal and security dangers that smuggling and its repression represent. On that count, current efforts have been quite successful. Executive Summary The Seaway International Bridge over the St.Lawrence River connecting the city of Cornwall, Ontario in Canada to the town of Massena, New York in the US. Details: Ottawa, ON: MacDonald-Laurier Institute, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2013 at: http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MLIBorder-Integrity-Illicit-Tobacco-Canadas-Security.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MLIBorder-Integrity-Illicit-Tobacco-Canadas-Security.pdf Shelf Number: 129489 Keywords: Border SecurityCigarette SmugglingIllegal Trade (Canada)Illicit Tobacco |