Canada Border Services Agency senior officials quarrelled internally about controversial Downtown Eastside patrols during the 2010 Winter Olympics, according to documents released to a local software developer.
"CBSA was really concerned about their image," said Joey Bowser, who was a member of the Olympic Resistance Network. "That just seemed utterly bizarre."
CBSA officers visited the W2 Culture and Media House on Feb. 14, 2010 with Vancouver Police Department officers. Two days later they questioned four people at a Victory Square protest. Both incidents attracted local and national media attention, sparked B.C. Civil Liberties Association complaints and inspired a debate among CBSA officials in Ottawa and Vancouver.
"Why were inland enforcement officers walking the beat with Vancouver Police?" CBSA director general of operations Susan Kramer asked inland enforcement director Rob Johnston in a Feb. 17, 2010 email. "Wouldn't the inland enforcement officers' time be better spent finding people on immigration warrants (which we will get in trouble for if we don't do) than walking the beat (which we are not mandated to do)?"
In a reply, Johnston claimed his officers had "the best enforcement results in the country" and credited partnerships with police.
"To take action that will severely impact that relationship due to a media report that is anti-CBSA is not reasonable," Johnston said. "The media were provided the facts but elected to not report them."
Acting vice-president of operations Maureen Tracy chimed in, saying she was concerned about "mandate creep and officer safety and affordability."
"Of course in person presence on police patrols gets us recognition and improves relationships," Tracy wrote. "But in this climate, can we afford to do it routinely when we can achieve our own objectives otherwise. Is this a 'service' we can afford to provide?"
An April 12, 2010 CBSA memo dismissed the BCCLA complaint. CBSA claimed the presence of officers downtown "should not be construed as an effort to target protesters based on nationality or immigration status."
The memo claimed CBSA was working within its mandate and had approximately 50 officers "working away from the border in the Vancouver area."
BCCLA executive director David Eby said CBSA did not appear to employ such a tactic before 2010. "CBSA denied at the time it was unusual, but the documents clearly show that it was," Eby said.
