More than two years after he was denied admission to Mexico during a vacation, 91原创 City resident Randy Caine still doesn鈥檛 know who reported him as a drug trafficker.

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After filing a request with the RCMP under the federal to find out exactly who was responsible for making what Caine described as 鈥渇alse and baseless鈥� allegations to Mexican authorities, Caine said nothing has been disclosed.

At first, the RCMP Access to Information and Privacy Branch told him that they would need more than the statutory 30 days to respond, then declined to release the information, arguing it was exempt under regulations that allow a federal agency to refuse to release certain kinds of information.

The RCMP did not give details, but exemptions can include disclosure 鈥渁ffecting the safety and security of individuals鈥� and privileged information covered by lawyer-client confidentiality.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when things went sideways,鈥� Caine said.

鈥淎ll of a sudden, it got weird.鈥�

Caine and his wife Maureen were greeted by Mexican police when they flew to the resort town of Puerto Vallarta in March of 2015.

He was refused admission, told that he鈥檇 been flagged as a 鈥渟ecurity threat鈥� for being a drug trafficker and put on a flight back to Canada. His wife had to take a later flight.

Caine operates stores selling legal hemp products in both 91原创s and White Rock and has often campaigned for reducing restrictions on marijuana use.

He was charged, but not convicted, of drug trafficking in July of 2011 when his legal medical marijuana dispensary in 91原创 City was raided by the RCMP.

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The charge was dropped in June 2013 when Caine pleaded guilty to less serious violations of exceeding the amount of marijuana he was allowed under his Health Canada licence and of storing it improperly.

He was then granted an absolute discharge on both counts. Under Canadian law, an absolute discharge is not considered a conviction.

Following the RCMP response to his FOI request, Caine took his case to the , which investigates complaints about federal institutions鈥� handling of access requests.

An email from the office provided to the Times by Caine said the RCMP have made a commitment to an investigator for the commissioner to respond to the commissioner鈥檚 questions, and if the federal police force fails to meet that commitment, 鈥渇ormal steps鈥� will be recommended.

鈥淢y director has already been briefed on your files and will support that action should it be necessary,鈥� the email from the investigator stated.

As an ombudsperson, the commissioner does not have the power to order a complaint to be resolved in a particular way, but may refer a case to the federal court for resolution.

Caine has continued to travel outside Canada to other countries since 2015, but 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go to Mexico and the U.S. until I can determine what the hell took place.鈥�

dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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