Canada Border Services Agency


The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control, immigration enforcement, and customs services in Canada.
Established in 2003 by an order-in-council that amalgamated the customs function of the now-defunct Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, the enforcement function of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and the port-of-entry examination function of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The CBSA's creation was formalized by the Canada Border Services Agency Act, which received Royal assent on 3 November 2005. The CBSA is overseen by Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
The CBSA oversees approximately 1,200 service locations across Canada and 35 in other countries. It employs over 16,500 public servants and offers 24-hour service at 117 of its land border crossings and 10 of the 13 international airports it serves. It works closely with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to enforce immigration laws by facilitating the removal of inadmissible individuals from the country and assisting local police in the investigation of violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The agency oversees operations at three major sea ports and three CBSA mail centres, and operates detention facilities, known as immigration holding centres, in Laval, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; and Surrey, British Columbia. CBSA's Inland Enforcement team tracks down and removes foreign nationals who are in Canada illegally.

History

Before 2004, border security in Canada was handled by three legacy agencies that performed individual functions:
The auditor general identified the issues in having the responsibility of border security be divided, such as the inability of individual agencies to share certain security information, as well as ineffective inter-agency communication. Thus, in 2003, the border enforcement functions taken on by the separate agencies would consolidate into a singular organization, titled the Canada Border Services Agency, with Alain Jolicoeur appointed as its inaugural president. Originally, under CCRA, Canada Customs was joined with the country's revenue service, though the agency would primarily give its focus to tax collection. With the establishment of Border Services, CCRA's taxation responsibilities would break off into the Canada Revenue Agency, while its customs function would be absorbed entirely by the CBSA.
The agency has since undergone significant changes to its overall structure, as well as to its range of duties and institutional priorities.

Arming officers

During its initial years, CBSA officers, just as their CCRA predecessors, were not equipped with firearms. This would be the case until 2006, when the Government of Canada would approve the CBSA Arming Initiative, a 10-year strategy to arm and train Border Services Officers.
One of the first significant policy changes to come to the agency was allowing CBSA officers to arrest and detain individuals at the border for non-customs-related violations of Canadian law. These responsibilities would eventually lead to the implementation of use of force policies, after which BSOs across Canada began to carry collapsible batons, pepper spray, and handcuffs, though it would take several years before they could be equipped with firearms. The 2006 Canadian federal budget introduced $101 million to equip BSOs with side arms and to eliminate single-person border crossings. The sidearm of choice is the Beretta Px4 Storm.

Implementation

In August 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that arming BSOs would begin in early 2007 and would continue through 2016, marking the 10-year strategy. Arming of officers at Ports of Entry across Canada was conducted systematically, with ports that were considered the busiest and/or most dangerous to be completed first. The first officers to be armed were those working at Ontario's Windsor-Detroit POE, the busiest highway port of entry in Canada.
As of 2019, Border Services Officers at all POEs were issued firearms. However, BSOs working within major airport terminals are not authorized to be armed and must instead store and lock their firearms after finishing their duty.

2021 strike

In August 2021, around 8,500 employees of the Agency represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union went on a work-to-rule strike, just days before COVID-19 restrictions on crossing the Canada–United States border were due to be eased. Having been without a collective bargaining agreement since 2018, the demands of the strike were an increase in salaries to reach equality with other law enforcement officials in Canada, increased protections against harassment and discrimination, as well as the implementation of a policy to allow non-uniformed officials to work from home. An agreement was reached between the workers and the Canadian government in the evening of the same day, ending the strike after one day.

Operations

Border Services Officers

A Border Services Officer is a federal law enforcement officer employed by the Canada Border Services Agency. While "Border Services Officer" is the overarching term for the CBSA's front-line personnel, it is not a title derived from legislation. Rather, BSOs receive multiple legislative designations such as "Customs Officer" under the Customs Act; "Immigration Officer" under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and "Screening Officer" under the Quarantine Act. When enforcing customs- or immigration-related legislation, BSOs are Peace Officers under the Criminal Code. However, they can only make arrests for offences under the Criminal Code if they are appointed as "designated officers" by the minister of public safety under the Customs Act and are at customs offices performing the normal duties of an officer or by Section 99.1 of the Customs Act.
Currently, BSOs are equipped with handcuffs, pepper spray, batons, and Beretta PX4 Storm pistols. The arming initiative began in 2007 and officially concluded in 2016. BSOs are trained at the CBSA College, located in Rigaud, Quebec. The training begins with a 4-week online program called the "Pre-OITP," followed by an 18-week program called the Officer Induction Training Program, which covers a range of topics from law to control and defensive tactics.

Immigration

The CBSA plays a key role in immigration to Canada, as it has assumed the port-of-entry and enforcement mandates formerly held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. CBSA officers work on the front lines, screening persons entering the country and removing those who are unlawfully in Canada.
As of the end of 2003, there were up to 200,000 illegal immigrants in Canada. Most are refugee claimants whose refugee applications were rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. There are very few illegal immigrants who enter the country without first being examined by the CBSA. The reason for this is that Canada is physically very difficult to get to, except crossing the Canada-US Border. As the US is itself a prime destination for illegal immigrants, not many illegal immigrants then attempt to cross the border into Canada in the wild.
There has been a recent increase in the number of illegal entrants from St. Pierre & Miquelon who travel in makeshift boats. High unemployment in the French colony has spurred this increase, which has been acknowledged by the Government of France. The CBSA and Royal Canadian Navy are considering increased marine patrols to intercept the illegal migrants. While residents could lawfully travel to France, the expensive airfare has made the relatively short boat ride to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador more attractive for destitute economic migrants.

Examinations, searches, and seizures

All persons and goods entering Canada are subject to examination by CBSA officers. An examination can be as simple as a few questions, but can also include an examination of the subject's vehicle and/or luggage, electronic devices, more intensive questioning, or strip-search. The intensity of an examination depends on the reasonable suspicion that the officer has to escalate the intensity of a search. CBSA Officers must adhere to strict search protocols, guidelines, and procedures during the examination process.
Examinations are performed to ensure compliance with customs and immigration legislation. CBSA officers are given their authority by the Customs Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In addition, BSOs are also able to enforce other Acts of Parliament as they are designated as Peace Officers under the Criminal Code. The agency will also seize items it labels obscene, as it did in February 2009 when it detained and banned two films by the adult film director Michael Lucas. CBSA's Policy On The Classification Of Obscene Material states that the "ingestion of someone else's urine... with a sexual purpose" makes a film obscene.
In 2000, after a ten-year-long controversy over items the agency labelled obscene, the case reached the British Columbia Supreme Court. One judge in the case concluded not only that Border officials had wrongly delayed, confiscated, destroyed, damaged, prohibited, or misclassified materials imported by the appellant on numerous occasions, but that these errors were caused "by the systemic targeting of Little Sisters' importations in the Vancouver Customs.

Enforcement and intelligence

Criminal investigations and prosecutions

The Criminal Investigations unit of CBSA is tasked with investigating and pursuing prosecution of those who commit criminal offences against Canada's border legislation. CBSA investigators are responsible for operational activities including:
  • Investigation of fraudulent activities related to the importation/exportation of goods and the movement of people;
  • Reviewing leads, researching, and gathering evidence;
  • Conducting forensic examinations on digital devices and media;
  • Execution of search warrants;
  • Preparation and serving of documents ;
  • Assisting foreign customs administrations with their investigation of customs offences ; and
  • Criminal prosecutions.