COMMENT: Smuggling diamonds into Canada?

Pity the poor, misguided woman who was caught last week trying to smuggle diamonds into Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency stopped a foreign woman when she attempted to enter the country at Pearson International Airport. Over 1,500 ct of rough diamonds were recovered.

The poor woman. What could she have been thinking? There is no need to bring "coals to Newcastle," as the saying goes.

Canada has been mining some very high quality diamonds since 1998. The Ekati diamond mine at Lac de Gras, NT, was the first, and this writer is the proud owner of a lovely example from that mine.

Moreover, Canadians led the way to the Kimberley Process that tracks and stops the traffic in "blood" diamonds – those mined with virtual slave labour and whose proceeds go to insurgent groups bent on overthrowing governments, particularly those in Third World countries.

Well, the smuggler will probably enjoy Canadian hospitality for some time as her actions are examined by our judicial system.