http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Canada/2007/03/15/pf-3754971.html
Excerpt from The Winnipeg Sun: March 15, 2007.
Excerpt from The Winnipeg Sun: March 15, 2007.
Guards Get Shrunk
Psychologists to evaluate border cops' personalities before they're issued guns
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, NATIONAL BUREAU
The federal government is hiring a team of psychologists to gauge whether individual border guards are stable and even-tempered enough to carry a gun.
Gearing up to arm thousands of agents in coming years, the Canada Border Services Agency wants psychologists to test the first batch of 870 candidates.
According to an online government tender posted this week, the testing and evaluation process will include medical and personality tests, "structured stress" and clinical interviews.
NDP MP Joe Comartin, whose Windsor riding is home to the busiest border crossing in the country, expects the screening will be as stringent as the process used for the RCMP and provincial and municipal police.
"It's not perfect, nobody will suggest that. But it will be as rigorous as it is for our police agencies in the country," he said.
An estimated 15% of border guards don't want to carry guns, and others won't be considered "safe" to carry weapons, Comartin said.
He said guards that don't pass the evaluation will be placed elsewhere in the agency.
But Liberal MP Roy Cullen, vice-chairman of the Commons public safety committee, said despite a stringent weeding process there's a chance some might slip through the cracks. Border agents will be trained to follow strict guidelines for drawing weapons, but he believes the Conservative government's decision to arm guards opens the door to potential greater violence.
"There might be situations where people forget the protocol, or in the heat of the moment they're confronted with a situation and suddenly you have guns blazing," he said. "That would really be a horrible thing to happen at any border crossing, but especially the more populous crossings like Detroit-Windsor where there are so many people.
"The last thing you want is stray bullets flying around."
Cullen said a safer alternative would be to have trained police officers, who are more experienced at handling hostile situations, securing the busiest crossings 24-7.
Liberal public safety critic Sue Barnes said arming guards raises concerns about high costs as well as safety.
"I think that this is something that over time will prove to be a very expensive solution. Maybe the alternative would have been a better use of financial resources," she said. "The training will encompass the safety issues, obviously. But the reality is there's more likely to be an incident if you have the situation of firearms present."
And told me to have a nice stay...
