FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 12, 2025

Victoria, B.C. – At the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Annual Summit, police leaders issued a united call for urgent modernization of Canada’s public safety framework in the face of rising geopolitical instability and social unrest.

CACP President Commissioner Thomas Carrique told media that today’s public safety threats are “no longer contained by geography” and that Canada’s police services are confronting “the domestic fallout of international disorder” — including transnational organized crime, extremist recruitment, drug trafficking, and cyber-enabled exploitation.

“Geopolitical instability and social unrest are driving a new wave of public safety threats,” said Commissioner Carrique. “Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, is a timely and necessary step as part of a sustained commitment to modern laws, modern tools, and modern collaboration.”

Whether it’s human smuggling or the illicit exportation and importation of illegal drugs, precursors, and firearms, Commissioner Carrique indicated that organized crime groups are taking advantage of systemic blind spots, outdated statutes, and digital platforms to victimize Canadians. He noted that Bill C-2 directly addresses long-standing CACP recommendations on lawful access, anti-money laundering, contraband trafficking, and the integration of intelligence across agencies. He also referenced the tougher crime bill promised by the federal government in the fall as an essential way to hold high-risk repeat violent offenders accountable and to disrupt organized crime networks through tougher bail and sentencing provisions.

Victoria Police Chief Constable Del Manak emphasized that these are not abstract national concerns.

“British Columbia is a coastal gateway to the Pacific — a province with major ports, international airports, and vast coastal and land borders,” Chief Manak said. “We are also on the front line of the ongoing mental health crisis, the fight against fentanyl, and organized crime. When global instability ripples outward, we feel it here quickly and deeply.”

Chief Manak noted that mail interception loopholes are enabling opioids to enter communities undetected, and financial crime networks are laundering illicit profits through increasingly sophisticated digital platforms. “Every undetected shipment is a community tragedy. Every untraced financial crime is a family losing its savings and security,” he added.

Bill C-2 aligns closely with several 2025 CACP resolutions addressing multiple legal and operations gaps, including but not limited to:

• lawful access to digital evidence, aligning Canada with its Five Eyes allies
• the ability to inspect letter mail weighing under 500g when a judicial warrant is obtained
• enhanced intelligence-sharing to identify precursor chemicals and criminal financial flows
• increased enforcement capabilities for border agencies, including the CBSA and Coast Guard.

Summit plenary sessions this week — covering topics such as economic instability, youth recruitment into extremist networks, hate-fueled violence, and INTERPOL partnerships — all reinforce the need for legislative reform, modern capabilities, and coordinated interagency action.

The CACP’s position is clear:

• Modern laws must close loopholes and reflect the realities of 21st-century crime.
• Modern capabilities must match the speed and sophistication of global criminal networks.

“While geopolitics and social unrest may be beyond our control,” Commissioner Carrique concluded, “our preparedness and our response, as Canadians, are not.”

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