CORY KRITICOS photo

Black Hawk Town

It's amazing when Donald Trump says "Jump" and the rest of the free world leaders simply ask "How high?"  Case in point was Trump's threat earlier this year that he was going to slap Canada with tariffs in response to fentanyl and illegal immigrants apparently flooding across the Canada/US border into the States.  It did not matter that when compared with the Mexican border we are barely a blip on the radar and then PM Justin Trudeau and his Liberal team launched into action, adding drones, helicopters, more border officers to secure the US border at a cost of $1.3 billion.  Part of this new policy was the renting of two Black Hawk helicopters for the RCMP at $5.5 million for use to patrol the longest border in the world longest in the world, spanning 5,525 miles or 8,891 km across 13 U.S. states and 8 Canadian Provinces/Territories.

For years the RCMP has used the Airbus Eurocopter for the bulk of its aerial reconnaissance and search capabilities.  It is sleek and quiet, emitting a very distinctive whirring noise that many people can easily identify as what is commonly known as the "Surrey bird."  For the new border patrolling, it was decided to use a military helicopter that is big, loud, and impossible to not notice.  To prove that the new Black Hawks are combat ready, they even carry armed members of the RCMP Emergency Response Team armed with AR-15s.  Welcome to the militarization of our police force that is somehow needed to protect the US border from threats coming from Canada.  Did I miss something here while watching this political theatre, I thought that US border security was their job, not ours?  I do not see the US beefing up their border security to stop tons of cocaine and crates of weapons that have been flooding into Canada for years. 

Considering the length of the Canadian border it is surprising how often the big Black Hawk helicopters fly surveillance over our region.  The issue is that it seems to spend much of its time far away from the actual border they are supposedly trying to protect.  I know from the Tsawwassen Loop that folks in South Delta are not amused at constantly getting buzzed by this noisy military helicopter that often is flying so low that it shakes the windows of houses there.  The same can be said for White Rock as these new RCMP toys are often buzzing the City By The Sea close to the public beaches 1.5 miles from the border and below the level of uptown.  Now the last time I looked, Crescent Beach is 3.5 miles north of the border and yet it too is also getting visited on a regular basis by this offensive military flying machine.  

On Easter Friday we were relaxing at Crescent Rock beach enjoying the blue skies, warm temperatures along with peace and quiet.  This was before the RCMP Back Hawk showed up on scene, thudding away high overhead as it headed north before turning west along the shore of Mud Bay, a point 5 miles north of the border.  I really don't know what they could have seen from their vantage point and do not understand why this helicopter would be in the vicinity.  This would be equivalent to flying around Brookswood in Langley, not exactly a hotbed for fentanyl or people smuggling.  Except for personal watercraft launching at White Rock and Crescent Beach, the only marina in the area is at Crescent Beach with the entrance often constrained by low tides.  Nobody is smuggling drugs and people from the Mud Bay Trail or the bottom of the Ocean Park bluff due to limited access and difficult terrain.

A day later we were inside our house at 3 p.m. when we heard the distinctive staccato of the Black Hawk flying low and loud heading south from Crescent Beach.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw this helicopter two blocks away over the shoreline and low enough that it was visible under the conifer trees.  I immediately phoned a buddy who lives at Christopherson Road on top of the bluff and he told me it had gone by their living room windows so close that the glass was shaking.  When I asked him how high it was flying, he told me "200 feet tops."  The nearby Christopherson Steps has 190 stairs from the shore to street, and these are 6" and 7" high so it equates to a 100 foot rise in elevation from sea level.  Anything more than 100 feet more and the helicopter would have been blocked from his view by the huge fir trees in his yard that have large low hanging branches.  Of course, this was right above the nude-friendly Crescent Rock beach.  Maybe they got tired of looking for fentanyl and decided to go find some crack instead.

The use of Black Hawks to guard the border here may only be the first step.  Pierre Poiievre has just announced a six-point plan to beef up Canadian border security.  Number one on this list is to "Call up Canadian Forces troops to the border along with military helicopters and surveillance now."  If the Conservatives are elected next week, it is likely we will see a constant wave of military helicopters pounding across our skies with each one making more racket than the blasts of the BNSF train horns we already are subjected to.  With night-vision capability there is nothing to stop this from happening 24 hours a day.  At some point, somebody needs to stand up and demand an end to this lunacy and noisy intrusion into our lives and environment.  We are not at war, we do not need military helicopters hammering through our skies above our beaches far from the border.  Instead, tell Trump to pound sand.

Naturally yours,

Don Pitcairn

I wish to acknowledge we live, work and play on the traditional lands of the Semiahmoo people.

Editor's Note:  Here is the RCMP Media Release on the Black Hawk helicopters from earlier this year.

RCMP Black Hawks take to the skies

January 22, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario 
From: RCMP National Headquarters

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have bolstered their surveillance and response capabilities by chartering two Black Hawk helicopters. These assets became operational on January 17, 2025. They are being used to patrol, detect, and respond to both north and southbound threats at the Canada-U.S. border, ultimately preventing illegal crossings of people, goods and drugs.  The Black Hawks complement the RCMP’s existing fleet of nine helicopters – six of which provide border surveillance and support, with cameras capable of thermal imaging, and one capable of hoisting operations.

The addition of Black Hawks greatly increases the RCMP’s detection and response capabilities, offering rapid deployment and providing coverage when and where needed in between ports of entry, in line with the RCMP’s mandate. The Black Hawks are being deployed on a daily basis based on operational needs. To protect operational integrity, the RCMP cannot provide more specific information on where the Black Hawks are based, nor where they will be deployed at any given time.

A British man goes to visit his granny, who recently moved to Greece