This page has been archived.
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.
As Minister of Public Safety, I am pleased to present to Parliament the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) Report on Plans and Priorities for 2009–10.
The CBSA has a dual mandate to secure the border and to facilitate travel and trade. This report describes how the CBSA will continue to meet this mandate by modernizing its administration of Canadian laws and regulations at the border, including the inland and overseas enforcement of immigration and refugee laws. Priorities include the continued arming of CBSA officers and building the capacities required to facilitate and secure our ports of entry during Canada's hosting of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The CBSA just marked its fifth anniversary. Over these five years, the Agency focused on integrating its three legacy organizations and modernizing border operations amid an unprecedented intensification of the security environment. Having matured as an Agency, the CBSA is developing a new strategic vision focused on border integrity, which entails innovative risk management combined with a clarified orientation to public service to enable the integrated, professional delivery of border programs.
The Agency is embarking on this change agenda to ensure that it can meet its dual mandate in the context of global economic and social challenges, intense budgetary pressures and continuing demands for new border services. Such change will rely on a corporate culture that nurtures the CBSA's values of integrity, respect and professionalism, and on corporate support that efficiently organizes people and systems, optimally allocates funding and clearly measures performance.
The CBSA faces one of the most critical challenges of government today: enforcing Canadian border laws to keep Canada safe and prosperous. I am convinced that the commitment and professionalism of CBSA staff will allow the Agency to continue rising to this challenge.
The original version was signed by the Honourable Peter Van Loan, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provides integrated border services that support national security priorities and facilitate the free flow of people and goods, including food, plants and animals, across the border. Specific responsibilities include the following:
Created in 2003, the CBSA is an integral part of the Public Safety portfolio, which is responsible for integrated national security, emergency management, law enforcement, corrections, crime prevention and border operations.
Over the past five years, the CBSA has evolved into an integrated border management agency, delivering its programs and services in a highly complex environment. The CBSA is responsible for the processing of close to 100 million people and $400 billion in trade each year at approximately 1,200 points of service across Canada and some international locations. Within this context, and by prudently managing resources and continually seeking opportunities to improve operational and cost efficiencies, the Agency delivers a wide range of programs and services for people and goods. In addition, the CBSA focuses on using strong risk management, effective partnerships and excellence in client service to deliver its mandate.
Every day, CBSA employees make thousands of real-time decisions that directly affect the security and prosperity of Canada. This work is done within a rapidly evolving environment where changes in international and domestic economic conditions, migration trends and technology, and threats to Canada's population and to plant and animal health, have immediate impacts on border management activities.
The Agency manages many operational risks, including the possible entry into Canada of illicit drugs; terrorists; goods that could cause chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive events; irregular migrants; counterfeit goods; firearms; and contaminated food, plants or animals. In addition, CBSA employees monitor departures from Canada to effectively control any export of strategic advanced technology that could be used in the development of weapons. The volume, range and geographic dispersal of the Agency's border activities dictate the need for effective intelligence and risk-management strategies to ensure border integrity.
Land border crossings | 119 | Customs warehouses | 87 |
Rail sites | 27 | Postal processing plants | 3 |
International airports | 14 | Detention facilities | 3 |
Small vessel marina reporting sites | 436 | International locations with migration integrity officers | 45 |
Ferry terminals | 12 | ||
Major port facilities | 3 |
Key CBSA Statistics (2007–08)
Given the complex and dynamic environment in which the CBSA operates, and the new and emerging risks that the Agency must respond to, there is a need to improve capacity to identify and interdict high-risk people and goods. In 2009–10, the CBSA will improve its risk-based approach to modern border management by streamlining the Agency's intelligence function and enhancing its targeting capabilities. This will enable the CBSA to more effectively identify and assess risks and allocate resources for the interdiction and mitigation of those risks. A key tenet of modern border management is to identify, assess and mitigate risks to Canada as close to their source as possible. As part of its risk management strategy, the CBSA will continue to move as much border management activity as possible away from the physical border and perform only those activities at the border that are best carried out there.
Effective risk management also depends on having the necessary plans in place to deal with exceptional circumstances. The CBSA continues to improve, and validate through exercises, its plans and capacity to provide critical business operations during and after an emergency situation. In 2010, Canada will host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and, in preparation for the event, operational plans are well under way to ensure that the border will remain open to the thousands of expected athletes, media representatives and tourists while remaining secure from any threats.
The Agency's ability to identify and interdict a wide range of risks at the border depends on having well-trained and experienced border services officers on duty. To ensure that they have the necessary skills and training, particularly with respect to the Agency's immigration and food, plant and animal inspection responsibilities, the CBSA will implement a revised national training strategy that addresses these areas.
Key CBSA Daily (Average) Statistics (2007–08)
The CBSA depends on cooperation, both domestically and internationally, to successfully deliver on its mandate. Domestically, the Agency administers and enforces the policies and programs of many departments and agencies (Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are the most prominent among these). The CBSA also works closely with its partners in border security, namely the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the organization responsible for border-related enforcement activities between ports of entry, as well as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. For example, the CBSA will be undertaking a pilot project with the RCMP to monitor Quebec–United States crossings, both at and between ports of entry, as part of the Government of Canada's efforts to enhance the effectiveness of border operations.
Internationally, the CBSA will continue to work closely with the United States, its most important partner in border integrity, by strengthening strategic cooperation and enhancing the volume, quality and timeliness of bilateral operational information sharing. Moving forward, the Agency will also seek opportunities to cooperate with other strategic partners. For example, given the importance of Europe as a source of people and goods destined for Canada, the CBSA will look to develop a more strategic relationship with the European Union. In addition, in 2009–10, the Agency will focus on strengthening its engagement with non-traditional partners, including countries around the Pacific Rim.
The CBSA serves many clients and stakeholders, and it seeks to maintain their trust by upholding the values of integrity, respect and professionalism. In support of this commitment, the CBSA is implementing an integrity and professional standards strategy to ensure that the Agency's employees reflect these values in their conduct and activities, both on and off duty. The strategy also aims to ensure that the CBSA's programs and systems support these values.
The CBSA will place a renewed focus on service orientation through the development of reasonable and transparent service standards over the next two years. This will enable the Agency to set clear service expectations for its clients and effectively measure the performance of its programs.
As part of its focus on improved service orientation, the CBSA is coordinating a single window initiative on behalf of 10 federal departments and agencies. This is a key priority for commercial stakeholders. The initiative will streamline the collection of advance commercial trade data by creating a single electronic interface for businesses to submit information to meet import and export regulatory requirements. It will also benefit the trade community by increasing competitiveness, reducing delays and improving the clearance and release times of goods.
Shown below are the CBSA's two strategic outcomes and a graphic of the CBSA's Program Activity Architecture for 2009–10.
Strategic Outcome 1: Canada's population is safe and secure from border-related risks.
Description: In providing integrated border services, the CBSA prevents the movement of unlawful people and goods across the border.
Strategic Outcome 2: Legitimate travellers and goods move freely and lawfully across our borders.
Description: In providing integrated border services, the CBSA facilitates the flow of legitimate people and goods in compliance with border legislation and regulations.
2008–09 |
2009–10 |
|
---|---|---|
Strategic Outcome |
Strategic Outcome 1 |
Strategic Outcome 2 |
Security |
Risk Assessment Program |
|
Enforcement Program |
||
Access |
|
Facilitated Border Program |
Conventional Border Program |
||
Trade Program |
||
Recourse Program |
||
Science- and Technology-based Innovation |
Risk Assessment Program |
Facilitated Border Program |
Enforcement Program |
Conventional Border Program |
|
Trade Program |
||
Internal Services |
||
Internal Services |
Internal Services |
Note: Since the financial information related to the Annual Reference Level Update initiatives was prepared using the CBSA's new Program Activity Architecture, it is not possible to show the redistribution of financial resources from 2008–09 to 2009–10 in the above crosswalk.
The CBSA's 2008–09 strategic outcome was divided into two outcome statements. The revised wording is more specific and better aligns with the Agency's mandate. The two strategic outcomes facilitate the development of performance measures to track the progress towards the achievement of each outcome. Adopting two strategic outcomes also contributes to the development of refined and more targeted program activities.
With six program activities, the CBSA's 2009–10 Program Activity Architecture provides a better sense of what each program activity does. The Science- and Technology-based Innovation program activity has been realigned to five of the Agency's six program activities because it relates to how the CBSA does business and not to what the Agency actually does. As a result, the CBSA has been able to eliminate duplication in programs from the various levels of its Program Activity Architecture, and the link between strategic outcomes, program activities and program sub-activities is now more evident. The changes will take effect on April 1, 2009.
The following tables provide summary data on the total financial and human resources of the CBSA for the next three fiscal years.
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
---|---|---|
1,500,160 |
1,516,195 |
1,673,965 |
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
---|---|---|
13,810 |
13,661 |
13,789 |
The planned spending increase of $16.0 million is a result of adjustments made to approved expenditures in multi-year initiatives, including the following items:
Increases
Decreases
The planned spending increase of $157.8 million (primarily project funds, not salaries) is a result of adjustments made to approved expenditures in multi-year initiatives, including the following items:
Increases
Decreases
Performance Indicators | Targets |
---|---|
|
|
Program Activity* | Forecast Spending 2008-09 ($ thousands) |
Planned Spending ($ thousands) |
Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes** | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |||
1.1 Risk Assessment | 226,525 | 163,916 | 145,677 | 235,402 | A strong and mutually beneficial North American partnership |
1.2 Enforcement | 406,983 | 328,998 | 321,298 | 367,145 | Safe and secure communities |
Total Planned Spending |
633,508 |
492,914 | 466,975 | 602,547 |
Performance Indicators | Targets |
---|---|
|
|
Program Activity* | Forecast Spending 2008-09 ($ thousands) |
Planned Spending ($ thousands) |
Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes** | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | |||
2.1 Facilitated Border | 42,774 | 41,053 | 34,616 | 51,100 | Strong economic growth |
2.2 Conventional Border | 577,660 | 538,674 | 543,537 | 544,936 | Strong economic growth |
2.3 Trade | 51,225 | 44,507 | 44,285 | 44,762 | A fair and secure marketplace |
2.4 Recourse | 9,435 | 9,356 | 9,355 | 9,337 | A fair and secure marketplace |
Total Planned Spending | 681,094 | 633,590 | 631,793 | 650,135 |
Program Activity* | Forecast Spending 2008-09 ($ thousands) |
Planned Spending ($ thousands) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | ||
Internal Services | 314,750 | 373,656 | 417,427 | 421,283 |
Total Planned Spending | 314,750 | 373,656 | 417,427 | 421,283 |
*For program activity descriptions, please access the Main Estimates at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estimate.asp.
**Government of Canada outcomes: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ppg-cpr/framework-cadre-eng.aspx?Rt=1037.
The figure below shows the allocation of the CBSA's planned spending by program activity for 2009–10.
Conventional Border: $549,174 (36%)
Internal Services: $373,656 (24%)
Enforcement: $328,998 (22%)
Risk Assessment: $163,916 (11%)
Facilitated Border: $41,053 (3%)
Trade: $44,507 (3%)
Recourse: $9,356 (1%)
The CBSA plans to spend $1,500 million in 2009–10 to meet the expected results of its program activities and contribute to its strategic outcomes. The figure below shows the Agency's spending trend from 2005–06 to 2011–12.
Since its creation in 2003, the CBSA has been managing substantial operational pressures. While spending increased steadily between 2005–06 and 2008–09, the increase resulted principally from project-specific funding related to Government of Canada priorities and was not available to address operational and corporate issues. In the long term, the full implementation of major innovation initiatives, such as eManifest, is expected to have a positive impact on the efficiency of border operations, thereby alleviating some of the operational pressures. In the interim, the CBSA is working to find solutions by allocating recently received program integrity funding to the areas of greatest risk and through internal reallocation to high-priority activities.
Vote No. or Statutory Item (S) | Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording | 2008-09 Main Estimates* |
2009-10 Main Estimates* |
---|---|---|---|
10 | Operating expenditures | 1,300,600 | 1,279,813 |
15 | Capital expenditures | 50,910 | 56,202 |
(S) | Contributions to employee benefit plans | 143,632 | 147,014 |
Total | 1,495,142 | 1,483,029 |
*The Main Estimates can be accessed online at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp.
The decrease of $12.1 million in net funding for the CBSA is related to the approved variation of resources from year to year related to the following:
The above decreases are partially offset by the approved variation of resources from year to year related to the following:
CBSA Operational Priorities |
Type |
Link to |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Enhance capacity to identify, assess and mitigate the risks posed by people and goods. |
Previously committed to |
Strategic Outcome 1 |
Why is this a priority? Key plans to meet the priority:
|
Improve service levels for legitimate people and goods. |
Previously committed to |
Strategic Outcome 2 |
Why is this a priority? Key plans to meet the priority:
|
CBSA Management Priorities |
Type |
Link to Strategic Outcomes |
Description |
Improve management tools, corporate procedures and organization to advance border management mandate. |
Ongoing |
Strategic Outcomes |
Why is this a priority? Key plans to meet the priority:
|