'I'd prefer to put security over commerce': Sarnia mayor reacts to potential border spending

The Mayor of Sarnia wants his city to reap the benefits of increased border spending.

His comments come in the wake of multiple reports suggesting that the Trudeau government will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up border crossings nationwide.

However, if incoming US President Donald Trump keeps his pledge to place a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, some border city mayors worry traffic volumes may fall.

To counter, Bradley is calling on the federal government to respond to Trump's demands to reduce the flow of illegal drugs and migrants.

Although the latter is not currently a significant concern at the Sarnia-Pt. Edward Crossing, Bradley says that illegal drugs are.

“There's been very, very significant arrests at the border with drugs. We're talking massive amounts of drugs and probably at least a dozen cases in the last few years.”

Mayor Mike Bradley discusses Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline in Sarnia, Ont. on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (Bryan Bicknell / CTV News)

Bradley contends that Bluewater deserves its fair share of any border protection spending, starting with enhanced border enforcement and policing.

“You just can't have drive-by policing, especially at a major border crossing. And we have the St. Clair River all the way from Sarnia, all the way down to Windsor, which is a very difficult river to police.”

Bradley wants an RCMP office in Sarnia to be re-established to improve security. He is offering up the city’s underutilized airport as a potential headquarters.

“And it's only minutes from the Bluewater Bridge. You could not come up with a better location.”

Still, he acknowledges that increased border security and the slowdowns those enhancements could generate may come at the price of commerce.

“That is a constant challenge, but I'd prefer to put security over commerce - and hopefully we can bounce both if this moves forward.”

Bradley has asked Ottawa to include all border mayors in security funding discussions, pointing to similar meetings that took place following 9/11.