Ottawa proposes 24/7 surveillance of Canada-U.S. border, new ‘strike force’ to stave off tariff threat [Video]

The federal government is promising a suite of measures to disrupt the flow of fentanyl and strengthen 24/7 surveillance of the Canada-U.S. border — including outfitting the RCMP with helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers and creating a new joint “strike force” to go after organized crime.

Newly sworn-in Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, flanked by a handful of cabinet colleagues, provided more details Tuesday about how the government plans to spend $1.3 billion to secure the Canada-U.S. border and allay U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s concerns about irregular migrants and drugs.

The drive to strengthen border security follows Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports, which he claimed was in response to concerns about border security, migrants and illegal drugs, especially fentanyl. Tariffs at that level could devastate Canada’s economy.

The government’s plan is based on what it calls five pillars: detecting and disrupting the …