Executive Summary: Primary Inspection Kiosk Privacy Impact Assessment Annex – Right Touch Air: Advance CBSA Declaration
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) launched a new feature as part of the agency's modernization efforts, which allows travellers to voluntarily submit their customs and immigration declarations electronically to the CBSA, up to 72 hours in advance of their arrival to Canada. The optional Advance CBSA Declaration feature has been added to the mandatory public health reporting program launched by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) via ArriveCAN.
Upon arrival, a traveller's advanced declaration will be retrieved and displayed for certification when they present their travel document to a Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK). Information will be automatically purged after 72 hours, including in circumstances such as: if the traveller does not arrive in Canada, or does not certify the declaration at the PIK. This information will not be used pre-arrival to conduct a risk assessment or produce a release or referral recommendation prior to a traveller arriving in Canada.
Information collected through ArriveCAN for Advance CBSA Declaration is deposited directly into a database within the CBSA Protected B cloud where it is stored temporarily. The data is encrypted in transit and at rest. It is retrieved from the cloud at the PIK when a traveller scans their passport or permanent resident card upon entry to Canada. When the traveller certifies the declaration at the kiosk or eGate the information is then transmitted to the CBSA to process the traveller as per existing PIK processes.
The first phase of the Advance CBSA Declaration initiative was deployed to the Vancouver International Airport on , and to Toronto Pearson International Airport on . To date, traveller processing times have been reduced to approximately 65 seconds or half of traditional PIK processing. National deployment of the initiative to all PIK-enabled airports will begin in 2022.
Protecting personal information
The following personal information will be collected from travellers using the Advance CBSA Declaration feature:
Traveller profile
- Username (ArriveCAN account email address)
- Airport of arrival
- Phone number
- Given name(s)
- Surname(s)
- Date of birth
- Document number
- Document type
- Citizenship
- Country of issuance
Entry declaration
- Purpose of trip
- Arriving from
- Duration of stay (if applicable)
- Customs declaration
- Immigration Declaration (if applicable)
The public health information submitted through ArriveCAN is stored separately by PHAC.
Right of access
The CBSA has controlled access rights in place for its IT systems. Only those with a need-to-know receive access to the systems necessary to perform their duties, and only at the level necessary for their job position and defined functions. The CBSA Protected B cloud is only accessible to those employees involved in the cloud operations and support roles.
The personal information related to the Advance CBSA Declaration initiative will be held according to the 72 hour timeframe retention period and recorded once submitted by the traveller in the CBSA traveller passage history database as per established PIK processes. If a traveller's Advance CBSA Declaration is not retrieved at the kiosk or the traveller does not arrive in Canada within the 72 hour timeframe, the Advance CBSA Declaration that was submitted will be deleted.
Applicants may formally request access to their personal information, or access to corporate records related to Advance CBSA Declaration by contacting the CBSA Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy (ISATICP) Office.
Accountability
If the applicant has concerns about the collection, use, disclosure or retention of their personal information, the applicant may issue a complaint to the CBSA ISATICP Office. Complaints should be made in writing, and include the applicant's name, contact information, and a brief description of their concerns.
Contact us
CBSA Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy (ISATICP) Office
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