When it comes to enforcing Canada’s security along the border that stretches 9,000 km, “things happen quickly,” says the RCMP’s head of serious and organized crime and border integrity.
In a Global News exclusive, The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson got the first access to the Black Hawk helicopters that are being wrapped and prepared for use on Canada’s border patrols as part of a bid to strengthen that security and respond to the U.S.‘s growing pressure to stop illegal border crossings and drug trafficking.
Mathieu Bertrand, chief superintendent and director general of serious and organized crime and border integrity for the RCMP, said the force has been assessing the force’s border capabilities since 2023, which was what allowed them to move quickly on leasing the Black Hawks.
He added the RCMP already had an existing number of nine helicopters, six of which were for patrolling the border, but the Black Hawks will increase their speed.
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“Things happen quickly on the …