OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada, fulfilling a promise made to U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday appointed a senior intelligence official to the new post of fentanyl czar, saying he would coordinate the fight against smuggling of the drug.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports from Canada unless the government does more to stop the flow of fentanyl across the border.
Trudeau spoke twice last week with Trump, who agreed to pause the punitive measures for a month in exchange for a number of concessions, one of which was appointing the new czar.
The job is going to Kevin Brosseau, a former senior policeman who most recently was Trudeau’s deputy national security and intelligence advisor.
“Canada needs a fentanyl czar that will coordinate between agencies, move quickly to tackle challenges and … (work) closely with our American counterparts to disrupt and dismantle this illegal drug trade crossing our border,” Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said in a statement.
White House officials say Canada and Mexico are conduits for shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the U.S. in small packages that are not often inspected.
Public data shows 0.2% of all fentanyl seized in the U.S. comes from the Canadian border, while the vast majority originates from the southern border.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Nia Williams)
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