Border Guards Find Gun Training Tough

(Richard Brennan — Toronto Star)

Canada’s border guards have been struggling to meet firearms training requirements, with 12 per cent failing the three-week certification course on the first try, according to internal government documents.

Their union complains the course is compressed into too short a time period, and that the RCMP-based standards are more stringent than those of other police forces across the country, say documents obtained by the Toronto Star through the federal Access to Information law.

“You have to appreciate the fact when (RCMP) recruits go to Depot in Regina, they are there for 16 weeks and that the training they receive for firearms is spread out,” Ron Moran, president of the Customs Excise Union, told the Star yesterday.

Moran said that compares with three weeks of training for border guards, many of whom have never held a gun in their lives.

The training course requires proficiency with a firearm at 25 metres, whereas the distance is 15 metres for other police forces across the country, Moran said.

A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said the training standards are set high to ensure the safety of the agency’s staff and the public.

“Candidates are allowed two attempts to pass the course,” Tracie LeBlanc noted by email. “Participants who do not successfully complete the duty firearm course on their first attempt receive feedback and guidance to help them prepare for their next qualification attempt.”

In a controversial move, the Conservative government announced $101 million to be spent over two years in its 2006 budget to begin arming Canada’s 4,800 border guards. The process is expected to take 10 years to complete at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

While the failure rate for the training program was about one in four when the program first started, it is now down to about 12 per cent, compared with a 2 per cent failure rate at the Ontario Police College, the Canada Border Services Agency documents show. Read the complete article.