CBSA - Blueprint 2020 Report - December 2016
Operation Syrian Refugees - Canada Border Services Agency's remarkable achievement

Last year, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) took part in an enormous Government of Canada effort to screen, transport and resettle 25,000 refugees fleeing the war in Syria. Given that on an average day‎ our officers handle about 270,000 incoming travellers to Canada, the added effort to manage the rapid arrival of Syrian Refugees was a remarkable feat. This demanded a tremendous amount of work and collaboration with other federal departments and from the entire Agency at temporary facilities in Montréal, Toronto, overseas, at the National Targeting Centre, and in our offices across Canada.  In some cases, empty Infield Terminals were quickly transformed into fully functional facilities in just three short weeks. This work directly involved staff from all parts of the Agency and inspired pride throughout the organization. February 27, 2016, marked an important milestone for Canada and for the CBSA as we welcomed the 25,000th Syrian refugee to Canada. But our work did not end that day. Our Agency continues to welcome Syrian and other refugees to Canada as part of our day-to-day operations.

On November 1, 2016, at the Government Technology Exhibition & Conference's (GTEC) annual event, the CBSA's IT specialists, along with its partners, Shared Services Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada won the most prestigious award – the Judge's Choice – for their essential role in ensuring the successful acceptance and resettlement of 25,000 Syrian refugees. GTEC is Canada's internationally recognized forum for excellence in innovation and government service delivery.

This united and multi-disciplinary team diligently joined forces to implement diverse and innovative technology and processes for Canadian and overseas operations in a rapidly changing environment and did so without impacting Canada's commitment to strong security and identity validation. These innovative processes and technology supported the business processes, allowing our front-line staff to focus on mission delivery. Congratulations to everyone!

The CBSA was recognized along with 14 other federal organizations, for their significant contribution to the Operation Syrian Refugees Initiative, at the Public Service Award of Excellence ceremony in October 2016.  The prestigious honour in the category of Large-Scale Special Event or Project, was awarded to the team for their tireless efforts in this humanitarian undertaking. Congratulations to the team!

Date modified:

2016-12-01