Operation "Wheatbar"
Sometime prior to April 1996 an "operation" was
re-established with the United States Customs to place food exported from
Canada for human or animal consumption into the same interdicted category
as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and guns. The operation was referred to
as "Operation Wheatbar" and included an agreement between the
most senior member of the Canada Customs Border Services, Steve Sloan, and
Richard Mercier, who was at the time the US Customs Attaché at the US
Consulate in Ottawa.
The purpose of "Operation Wheatbar" was to formalize a
document and information exchange agreement with US Customs, even though
bringing Canadian grain into the US is not an offence in that
country. A farmer who wished to take wheat or barley into the US
only had to stop at the US Customs office and pay a %5.00 fee for the
certificate and was asked to drop off the scale ticket on his return to
Canada.
Information gained through an Access to Information request reveals
that Canada Customs was apprehensive about how the US information would be
used against western farmers and sent a cautionary memo to all Managers,
Prairie Region Investigations, Subject: USE OF U.S. SOURCE DOCUMENTS:
"As a follow-up to recent telephone conversations and the
re-establishment of OPERATION WHEATBAR, with U.S. Customs, I would like
to reaffirm that we should not be using U.S. source documents in any of
our civil proceedings. It is our understanding that we will only
use the documents when we proceed criminally."
This was an undertaking that CCRA had given to the U.S.
Consulate. That was their word, that was their bond. However,
in style so typical of anything Canadian, they went on to say:
"Once the matter has been resolved and the documents are a
matter of public record the use thereof, in civil proceedings can
be justified. Please ensure that we observe these procedures as we
do not wish to jeopardize our document exchange program."
Signed Steve Sloan, Chief, Investigations Section with a cc: to Richard
Mercier, U.S. Customs Attaché.
Not only was "Operation Wheatbar" a document exchange
program, but the agreement extended to the use of force by armed U.S.
border personnel if they were called on for assistance by Canada Customs
officers, who were unarmed and had not yet received their surveillance equipment
and body armour.
In a letter from John Pinches, Action Manager Customs Section to Mr.
Mercier U.S. Customs Attaché, a boastful John Pinches writes:
"Operation Wheatbar, to the credit of your Customs personnel,
has paid high dividends. As you are aware, many of our cases [prosecution
of western farmers] would not have reached a satisfactory conclusion
without the spirit of co-operation extended by U.S. Customs."
The letter continued:
"We cannot understate how critical the maintenance of this
program is to the effective enforcement actions taken against those who
would choose to violate the regulations."
Farmer Andy McMechan was jailed for 155 days, even though it has been
subsequently determined that the law in question did not exist.
Thirteen more farmers have been jailed in Alberta. Twenty-eight more
are facing the same consequences in Regina.
To the American public who cherish freedom, the very notion that their
own Customs Attaché participated in the jailing of Canadian farmers whose
only crime was to get the best price for their wheat and barley is nothing
short of outrageous. When one farmer has his most basic freedoms and
individual rights violated by the joint action of two governments it is a
serious threat to the freedom of everyone.
Ken Dillen
November 11, 2002 |
