01-26-2006, 04:09 AM
Conservatives say they will keep promise to arm Canada's border guards
Last Updated Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:41:38 EST CBC News
The newly-elected Conservatives say they will make good as soon as possible on their leader's pledge to arm Canadian border guards, following a shootout on the Canada-U.S. border on Tuesday night. The Conservative MP for the area says when Canadian border guards are facing a gun fight, batons and pepper spray just won't do. "It simply reinforces the fact that our customs officers work in a very dangerous situation," said Russ Hiebert.
![[Image: border_chase060125.jpg]](http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/border_chase060125.jpg)
[FONT=verdana,arial]The Peace Arch border crossing, Tuesday.[/FONT]
"And as a Conservative government we're committed to giving them the resources and the equipment. And that includes giving them the sidearms that they need to handle these kinds of dangerous situations."
A police chase near the Canada-U.S. border forced the closure of the Peace Arch border crossing south of Vancouver for hours on Tuesday.
It also caused dozens of Canadian guards to walk off the job, fearing for their safety.
The incident started when two men, both murder suspects, tried to get into Canada. Officials say the two men, 38-year-old Ishtiaq Hussain and 22-year-old Jose Antonio Barajas, are now in custody. They are wanted on murder charges in California.
But the arrest didn't come easy. One of the suspects was wounded in a shootout with police.
U.S. sheriffs say the pair managed to make it to the checkpoint about a metre before Canadian soil.
"They [drove] through the border and they almost struck two uniformed officers," said Bill Elf, of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.
The suspects continued northbound and struck the Peace Arch itself at one point.
Witness Bill Whittle didn't see the ensuing gunfight but he heard it. "I heard about seven or eight gunshots on the other side of the Peace Arch," he said. "One of [the suspects] was shot. [The police] got him out of the car."
![[Image: elfo_bill060125.jpg]](http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/elfo_bill060125.jpg)
[FONT=verdana,arial]Bill Elf of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.[/FONT]
Officials credit a brave deputy sheriff for single-handedly stopping the pair, who were considered armed and dangerous.
When unarmed Canadian border guards found out the murder suspects were coming their way they left their posts at four crossings along the B.C. border. Only two supervisors were left at each crossing to protect the Canadian side.
The managers called the RCMP for backup and the border was closed for seven hours.
The union says border guards will continue to refuse to work whenever they feel threatened, until the government delivers on its promise to give them guns.
"When you see it after the fact that they actually had a machine-gun, and knowing what's happened at some other crossings in the past, there is a fear, a legitimate fear, and part of that is anger that nothing has been done, that nothing's taken place, and nothing has happened," said George Scott, a vice-president in the Customs Excise Union.
Last Updated Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:41:38 EST CBC News
The newly-elected Conservatives say they will make good as soon as possible on their leader's pledge to arm Canadian border guards, following a shootout on the Canada-U.S. border on Tuesday night. The Conservative MP for the area says when Canadian border guards are facing a gun fight, batons and pepper spray just won't do. "It simply reinforces the fact that our customs officers work in a very dangerous situation," said Russ Hiebert.
[FONT=verdana,arial]The Peace Arch border crossing, Tuesday.[/FONT] "And as a Conservative government we're committed to giving them the resources and the equipment. And that includes giving them the sidearms that they need to handle these kinds of dangerous situations."
A police chase near the Canada-U.S. border forced the closure of the Peace Arch border crossing south of Vancouver for hours on Tuesday.
It also caused dozens of Canadian guards to walk off the job, fearing for their safety.
The incident started when two men, both murder suspects, tried to get into Canada. Officials say the two men, 38-year-old Ishtiaq Hussain and 22-year-old Jose Antonio Barajas, are now in custody. They are wanted on murder charges in California.
But the arrest didn't come easy. One of the suspects was wounded in a shootout with police.
U.S. sheriffs say the pair managed to make it to the checkpoint about a metre before Canadian soil.
"They [drove] through the border and they almost struck two uniformed officers," said Bill Elf, of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.
The suspects continued northbound and struck the Peace Arch itself at one point.
Witness Bill Whittle didn't see the ensuing gunfight but he heard it. "I heard about seven or eight gunshots on the other side of the Peace Arch," he said. "One of [the suspects] was shot. [The police] got him out of the car."
[FONT=verdana,arial]Bill Elf of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department.[/FONT] Officials credit a brave deputy sheriff for single-handedly stopping the pair, who were considered armed and dangerous.
When unarmed Canadian border guards found out the murder suspects were coming their way they left their posts at four crossings along the B.C. border. Only two supervisors were left at each crossing to protect the Canadian side.
The managers called the RCMP for backup and the border was closed for seven hours.
The union says border guards will continue to refuse to work whenever they feel threatened, until the government delivers on its promise to give them guns.
"When you see it after the fact that they actually had a machine-gun, and knowing what's happened at some other crossings in the past, there is a fear, a legitimate fear, and part of that is anger that nothing has been done, that nothing's taken place, and nothing has happened," said George Scott, a vice-president in the Customs Excise Union.