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Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale is commending law enforcement along the border after a woman was arrested for human smuggling this week.
Speaking to reporters in Saskatoon, Goodale said RCMP officers and CBSA agents had been working “seamlessly” with American officials during the now four-month long investigation.
“They’re very actively, in a professional way, doing the job that they’re supposed to do,” he said.
With higher rates of illegal border crossings in recent months, Goodale said the RCMP have re-deployed existing members to have higher staffing levels closer to the border.
But he suggested they haven’t made a request for more personnel.
“If they believe they need additional resources, they will let me know,” he said.
The lone Saskatchewan Liberal MP said details are still fresh and the human smuggling investigation is continuing. He said more information on the nine West Africans who were smuggled into the country would be released “in due time.”
He noted law enforcement needs to maintain a balance between security and compassion.
“People feel for whatever reason they are in desperate circumstances,” Goodale said.
“Whether you think their reasons are legitimate or not, [asylum seekers] have that sense of fear.”
The minister said those trying to prey on those feelings need to be dealt with accordingly.
“When people exploit that fear to extract thousands of dollars from people in those kinds of desperate circumstances, that is a hideous crime.”
