(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Sept. 15, 1999)
Migrant info
gone missing in action
By Leo Knight
THE
situation with the migrant "boat people" is fast
becoming a mockery.
Every
aspect seems destined to make this country a global laughing
stock.
The
prime minister is in denial.
The
Mounties are raiding already undermanned detachments to act as
custodial guards for God knows how long.
Their
marginal budget is being kicked all over the place with the cost
of their operation let alone the 15 or so officers assigned to
conduct the investigation into the matter.
The
armed forces are trying to protect our coastal sovereignty with
equipment being held together with scotch tape and baling wire.
The
new immigration minister doesn't seem to know whether she's
drilled, punched or bored and clearly she's already been
finger-tamed by the civil servants who really run her office.
We're
building a jail in the heart of a quiet Esquimalt neighbourhood
to house the migrants and the locals are getting pretty upset
over all of the noise and interruption in their lives.
The
migrants themselves have to be handcuffed whenever they're moved
because they're being housed in essentially a naval base not a
secure containment facility.
Why,
when we have a perfectly good facility which, until August,
housed the Vancouver Police Department jail? But then the optics
of that would probably upset the politically correct.
Then
there's the whole question of information being provided to the
public.
As
the arrivals by rusty tubs have become more frequent, the
attention given by the media has become much more intense.
Even
the Toronto media have noticed!
Because
the trafficking in human cargo is an enterprise of organized
crime and in this case, Asian organized crime, one of the
principal spokesmen for the police has been Sgt. Jim Fisher, a
Vancouver police officer currently assigned to Criminal
Intelligence Services Canada (CISC).
Fisher
is the recognized expert on Asian gangs, triads and other
elements of Asian organized crime.
It's
part of his job description in his position to educate, comment
and inform the media.
As
the story has grown, Fisher has been quoted in just about every
newspaper, wire service and newscast around North America.
RCMP
spokesman Corporal Grant Learned has been referring all media
requests to Fisher simply because he has the specific knowledge
and Learned doesn't.
I was very surprised when on Monday I spoke to Fisher on the phone and when I asked for an update on the migrant situation I was told he "couldn't go there," and was referred to Supt. Ray Lang, the officer in charge of the Immigration and Passport section at RCMP headquarters.
Was
this true, I asked, had he been gagged?
"You
know I can't say that," he replied.
And
thus ended the conversation.
So
I did a little digging with some other old friends and
determined that he had, in fact, been gagged by the RCMP who
administer CISC.
It
has been suggested by some pointy-headed one that Fisher had
deliberately or inadvertently given out "holdback"
information.
(Information
known only to the investigators and not for public consumption.)
Now
this sort of allegation can destroy a professional officer's
reputation and career.
According
to the people I spoke to, Fisher was not privy to
"holdback" information in this investigation and has
only been providing the background on Asian gangs and how the
people smugglers operate.
So,
what gives?
I
contacted Grant Learned for the RCMP's official position.
He
essentially confirmed the gag order saying, "I'm told he is
not now a resource available to us in the business of public
information."
I
asked if this made things more difficult given the widespread
media interest.
Learned
replied, "I don't have the background of knowledge Jim has.
"He
is the quintessential expert."
This
is nuts.
Canadians
are clamouring for information on this issue.
Good
Lord, all one needs to do is dial around the radio talk shows to
know how the situation has struck a chord with everyone
regardless of political stripe or ethnicity.
The
single person in the policing community who can speak
knowledgeably about the subject has been gagged and Lang has
been designated the RCMP's spokesman on the migrant issue.
Lang's
version of media relations and informing the public is rather
old-school apparently.
When
contacted for comment by Province reporter Fabian Dawson,
who broke the corruption in our Hong Kong consulate story, Lang
was a virtual fountain of information.
"I
can neither confirm nor deny" was his mantra.
What
this is really about is anyone's guess.
I'm
betting on a little inter-agency peeing contest.
Something like a petulant child whining about not getting any attention.
I'm
told there have been some very high level meetings between the
RCMP, Immigration Canada Enforcement and CISC over this issue.
Maybe they'll learn to play nice in the sandbox while they are it.