The progress Canada has made on tightening security along the border with the United States and combating drug smuggling should satisfy the Trump administration, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said on Thursday.
At the same time he spoke, President Donald Trump said his proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada would go into effect on March 4 as scheduled on the grounds that drugs were still pouring into the United States from those countries.
"We are quite convinced that the efforts we've made thus far should satisfy the U.S. administration," McGuinty said in televised remarks to reporters in Washington ahead of two days of talks with senior U.S. officials.
"The evidence is irrefutable - progress is being made. In my view, any test that was put on Canada in terms of showing progress and meeting standards for the border - I believe those have been met," he said.
Official data shows the vast majority of the drugs intercepted in the United States comes from Mexico.
The Canada Border Services Agency said on Thursday it was launching a targeted, cross-country initiative to intercept illegal contraband arriving and leaving the country, with a focus on fentanyl and other synthetic narcotics.
"During this blitz, border services officers will be increasing examinations of inbound and outbound shipments," it said in a statement.
