RCMP Fact Sheets

National Ports Strategy

QUICK FACTS • The RCMP National Ports Strategy is part of the RCMP's overall mandate to ensure border integrity. • In 2003, the RCMP received up to $11.5 million over five years to conduct enhanced Emergency Response Team training, to establish a permanent presence at major ports, and to conduct personnel screening on behalf of Transport Canada. • The RCMP is responsible for investigation of federal statutes as well as national security investigations at all ports.

Overview
The RCMP National Ports Strategy is part of the RCMP's overall mandate to ensure border integrity.

The objective is to take an intelligence-led, multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to prevent, deter and detect any illicit and/or terrorist activity, cargo or people at Canada's major marine ports that may pose a threat to national, US and global safety and security.

The mandate is to significantly disrupt and/or eliminate the capacity of organized crime groups to utilize ports as a conduit for the entry of cargo and/or persons that could pose a risk to national security.

As an intelligence-led organization, the RCMP is an active participant in Canada’s Interdepartmental Marine Security Working Group(IMSWG) and works with many national and international partners daily to enhance security at Canada's major marine ports.

National Port Enforcement Teams (NPETS) are part of the RCMP Border Integrity Program. These integrated intelligence-led teams conduct investigations of federal statute offences that involve Canadian ports.

The RCMP enforces federal statutes such as those involving smuggling, illegal drugs, immigration and national security.

NPETS investigative priorities include: national security, organized crime and other criminal activity.

Early in 2003, $11.5 million (to be disbursed over five years) was committed to the RCMP via a Memorandum to Cabinet on Canada’s Marine Security submitted by Transport Canada. This funding enabled the RCMP to establish a permanent presence at Canada’s three major ports–Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver. Additional funding was received in 2005 to enhance the NPETs at the three ports and create an additional team in the port of Hamilton (2007).

The teams are operational and are part of the RCMP’s National Ports Strategy. NPETs are part of the RCMP’s existing federal mandate at the marine ports and include various partners from federal, municipal and provincial government and law enforcement agencies.

Policing of Ports
Basic security functions such as access control are the responsibility of the Port Authorities and police force of jurisdiction, which provide standard police services/law enforcement at the ports. Private security companies provide port security. The RCMP is responsible for investigation of federal statutes as well as national security investigations at all ports whether we have a presence on-site or not.