Parliamentary material—Standing Committee on Public Accounts: Office of the Auditor General Audit on Respect in the Workplace (January 28, 2021)

Parliamentary summary of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts appearances

43rd Parliament (December 2019 to present)

December 3, 2020: Report 3, Taxation of E-commerce, of the 2019 spring reports

The CBSA appeared alongside representatives from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Department of Finance, and Auditor General's Office (OAG).

The meeting was scheduled as a follow-up to the Committee's November 17, 2020 hearing, with the goal of more specifically studying "updated action plans to fall 2020". Given the timing of the appearance against the November 30, 2020 publication of the Fall Economic Statement 2020 (FES), the majority of Members' questions pertained to measures announced in the FES and were directed to CRA and Department of Finance officials.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their questions to the CBSA on how the Agency levies duties and taxes for goods purchased using cryptocurrency, on the compliance verification process for Courier Low Value Shipments (CLVS), on how the Agency reacts to instances of CLVS non-compliance, and on whether any special actions are taken to accommodate public health measures during the busy holiday season.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their questions to the CBSA on the potential impacts of tax system changes announced in the Fall Economic Statement 2020, and on the Agency's progress in piloting the Courier Analytics Tool and in implementing the CARM Project.

The Bloc Québécois followed the same line of questioning pursued during the previous appearance, and asked whether the CBSA is appropriately resourced to fulfill its tax collection duties.

November 24, 2020: Report 1, Immigration Removals, of the 2020 spring reports

The CBSA appeared alongside representatives from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), and OAG.

The audit examined how effectively the Agency has been enforcing removals, and found that the CBSA has not been doing enough to enforce them in a timely manner, has issues with poor case management and data quality, and is unable to locate many foreign nationals who are subject to a removal order. The Agency agreed with the OAG's findings, and is making progress in implementing its comprehensive Management Action Plan.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their questions on details of the inventory of individuals subject to a removal order, especially those with associated criminality or who committed crimes while in Canada, on the screening of asylum seekers, and on the cost of departure incentivizing programs.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their questions on the IRB's claim processing, data sharing among departments, deferred removals, and progress in developing departure incentivizing programs.

The Bloc Québécois focused their questions on the feasibility of voluntary departures, data quality, the relative effectiveness of government investments in immigration, and IRB hearings during COVID-19.

The New Democratic Party focused their questions on immigration holding centres and detention, the impact of removal delays on individuals and their families, and on the Safe Third Country Agreement.

November 17, 2020: Report 3, Taxation of E-commerce, of the 2019 spring reports

The CBSA appeared alongside representatives from the CRA, Department of Finance, and OAG.

The audit examined how effectively the federal government ensures the neutrality of the e-commerce sales tax system and whether the GST/HST tax base is being protected. With respect to the Agency, the audit examined whether the CBSA validated and collected the sales taxes owed on goods imported through the CLVS Program. The OAG determined that the limits of existing legislation, combined with the CBSA's data management practices, placed Canadian businesses at an unfair disadvantage. These limitations were such that the Agency should have been aware that certain companies were likely not remitting all sales taxes as part of the CLVS Program.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their questions on the taxation of digital giants, efforts to raise awareness of individuals' tax obligations, and whether individuals are penalized for instances of non-compliance.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their questions on the CRA and CBSA's legislative authorities to conduct compliance verifications and on CLVS compliance verification measures.

The Bloc Québécois focused their questions on estimated amounts of lost tax revenue, namely in Quebec, and on whether the CBSA is under resourced to fulfill its tax collection duties. They qualified the audit findings as "explosive" and suggested an additional two meetings to study the subject (Committee members agreed to schedule a single additional meeting).

The New Democratic Party focused their questions on the CRA's legislative authorities to conduct compliance verifications and on perceived delays to the implementation of the CBSA's e-commerce strategy.

42nd Parliament (December 2015 to September 2019)

May 28, 2019: Report 2, Processing of Asylum Claims, of the 2019 spring reports

The audit examined how asylum claims were processed by the Canada Border Services Agency, by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, by and the Immigration and Refugee Board, the three main organizations involved in Canada's refugee determination system. The OAG found that Canada's refugee system has been unable to adjust to spikes in the volume of claims and is again faced with a significant backlog.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on criminals being allowed to enter the country, and whether the CBSA was keeping track of asylum seekers with criminal records.

November 9, 2017: Report 2, Customs Duties, of the spring 2017 reports of the Auditor General of Canada

The audit focused on whether the Department of Finance Canada, Global Affairs Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency carried out their roles and responsibilities in managing customs duties on the many goods imported into Canada each year. The OAG found that the CBSA was unable to assess all customs duties owed to the government because its import controls were not working adequately.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused on voluntary compliance at the border, regularity of reviewing our systems to make sure they are working, revoking of importers licences and imposing penalties on non-compliant brokers, and tracking mechanism for repeat offenders.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their questions on the increase of online shopping (e-commerce) causing a surge at the border, ensuring proper verifications at the border, adequate information tracking, and the state of the policies currently in place.

May 29, 2017: Report 3, Preventing Corruption in Immigration and Border Services

The Auditor General (AG) began the hearing with a summary of his key findings, notably that Immigration and Refugees Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) had procedures and controls to monitor and assess risks, but should have monitored them more closely to ensure that they were followed or functioning as intended.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on procedures at the border and mechanisms in place to ensure policies are followed.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on procedures at the border, and policies guiding the BSOs at the border.

The New Democratic Party focused their line of questioning on the lack of time for employees to properly do their job, how the CBSA handles matter pertaining to organized crime at the border, the training for the BSOs, and milestones from the audit that CBSA has achieved so far.

February 6, 2017: Report 1, The Beyond the Border Action Plan, of the fall 2016 reports

The audit examined the progress made by departments and agencies in meeting the commitments set out in the action plan and in achieving results toward the intended benefits. The OAG looked at how Public Safety Canada reported on progress, performance, and costs in their annual reports. The action plan had 19 initiatives that focused on enhancing security. The audit demonstrates departments and agencies faced challenges in completing a number of the initiatives, and they couldn't demonstrate that they had improved security at Canada's borders.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on getting the performance measurement framework, and requesting an update on entry/exit program as well as the impact this will have with our US counterpart.

The Conservative Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on the internal perceptions on the audit, the single window initiative, whether CBSA changes its method of operating what impacts would that have on their US counterparts citing entry/exit, capabilities of existing technologies.

The New Democratic Party asked about potential items to measure in the performance framework.

June 2, 2016: Report 2, Detecting and Preventing Fraud in the Citizenship Program

In the audit, the OAG examined whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had adequate practices to detect and thereby prevent fraud in adult citizenship applications. They looked at practices intended to ensure that citizenship applicants met the program's residency requirements, that they had no criminal prohibitions, and that they were permanent residents of Canada. The lack of information sharing, guidelines and procedures, as well as database issues were central to the discussions. The OAG made five recommendations to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and two recommendations to both the department and its partners, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency. All three organizations agreed with our recommendations and have committed to taking actions to implement them.

The Liberal Party of Canada focused their line of questioning on the CBSA's global case management system and looking into updating it.

Standing Committee on Public Accounts biographies

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) has existed since Confederation, and has precursors that considerably predate 1867. It is one of only four House of Commons Standing Committees that are chaired by a member of the Official Opposition's party.

Committee Mandate

PACP is Parliament's standing audit committee. It reviews the work of the federal government's external auditor, the Auditor General of Canada.

When the Speaker tables a report by the Auditor General in the House of Commons, it is automatically referred to PACP. The Committee selects the chapters of the report it wants to study and calls the Auditor General and senior public servants from the audited organizations to appear to respond to the Office of the Auditor General's findings. The Committee also reviews the Public Accounts of Canada and examines financial and/or accounting shortcomings raised by the Auditor General.

Government policy, and the extent to which policy objectives are achieved, are generally not examined by PACP. Instead, the Committee focuses on government administration – the economy and efficiency of program delivery as well as the adherence to government policies, directives and standards. The Committee seeks to hold the government to account for effective public administration and due regard for public funds.

Committee members

Kelly Block (Chair)

Political affiliation: Conservative Party of Canada
Constituency: Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, Saskatchewan

• First elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2011, 2015, and 2019
• Served as vice-chair on the Standing Committee on Trade, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament
• Member of the Liaison Standing Committee
• Former member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in the 43rd and 41st Parliaments, and of the Standing Committee on Finance in the 40th Parliament
• Former Opposition critic for Public Services and Procurement
• Prior to her election, Mrs. Block served two terms as the first female mayor of Waldheim, Saskatchewan, as chairperson of the Gabriel Springs Health District, and was awarded the Maclean's Parliamentarian of the Year – Rising Star – Award in June 2010

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Question Period
    • Questioned the Government on how many suspected fake personal protective equipment (PPE) shipments the CBSA has seized (April 2020)

Lloyd Longfield (First Vice-Chair)

Political affiliation: Liberal Party of Canada
Constituency: Guelph, Ontario

• First elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019
• Member of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (ENVI)
• Former Executive Director of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, and former business executive

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about streamlining duty and tax data received from courier companies and about whether legislative amendments could support better revenue capture
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about screening processes at the border and whether they leverage agreements with Five Eyes allies

Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Second Vice-Chair)

Political affiliation: Bloc Québécois
Constituency: Rimouski-Neigette – Témiscouata – Les Basques, Quebec
Critic for Public Accounts and Tourism

• First elected in 2019
• Preceded in his riding by Guy Caron who served as the leader of the NDP from 2017 to 2019
• Business Administration graduate from the University of Quebec in Rimouski and former administrative officer at the Business Development Bank of Canada
• Was regional president of the Youth Forum of the Bloc Québécois

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Qualified the audit as "explosive" and requested the Committee spend additional time studying the report
    • Was especially interested in estimates of lost tax revenue in Quebec
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Was critical that despite Parliament having approved frequent funding to support the immigration system over the years, results seem not to improve

Luc Berthold

Political affiliation: Conservative Party of Canada
Constituency: Mégantic—L'Érable, Quebec
Critic for Treasury Board

• First elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019
• Former Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food
• Prior to his election, Mr. Berthold was Nathalie Normandeau's Political Assistant, and communications advisor for the Leader of the Official Opposition in 1999, the Interim Director of communications for Quebec's Liberal Party in 2006, and worked as a speaker, coach and gave leadership training sessions

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked hypothetical questions and the state of removals had it not been for the Agency's directed focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and asked for various details about individuals subject to a removal order (in which provinces are they, where are they from, where did they come in to Canada)
  • Statement by Members
    • Criticized the Government was too slow to close to borders (October 2020)

Philip Lawrence

Political affiliation: Conservative Party of Canada
Constituency: Northumberland—Peterborough South, Ontario
Critic for National Revenue

• First elected in 2019
• Former member of Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights
• Prior to his election, Mr. Lawrence received his BA from Brock University in Political Science, he attended Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of business to obtain his law degree and MBA, and volunteered at the Financial Planning Standards Council

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked questions about the amounts offered to individuals to incentivize voluntary departure from Canada
    • Asked about the amount of enforceable removal orders, the amount of removal orders associated with criminality, and about crimes committed by individuals subject to a removal order. Suggested the screening process may not be comprehensive if criminality is not always flagged

Len Webber

Political affiliation: Conservative Party of Canada
Constituency: Calgary Confederation, Alberta

• First elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019
• Former Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Health in the 42nd Parliament
• Former member of the Standing Committee on Health, and of its Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada
• Prior to his election, Mr. Webber was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Calgary-Foothills from 2004 to 2014
• He worked as an apprentice electrician and managed his own contracting company for 10 years, and served as vice president and director of the Webber Academy, a private, non-profit school founded by his father in southwest Calgary for children from junior kindergarten to grade 12

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Nothing to note

Matthew Green

Political affiliation: New Democratic Party of Canada
Constituency: Hamilton Centre, Ontario
Critic for National Revenue, Public Services and Procurement, Treasury Board, and Deputy Critic for Ethics

• First elected in 2019 in the riding formerly held by NDP MP David Christopherson
• Former Councilor for the City of Hamilton (2014 to 2018)
• Member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO)
• Member of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association (CAAF) and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas (CPAM)

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked questions about delays in approving an e-commerce strategy, and about whether any provinces had raised concerns about lost tax revenue
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Expressed an interest in the government's use of detention and immigration holding centres, and asked whether any analysis had been done on the impact of removal delays on individuals and their families
  • Government Orders
    • In the context of Bill C-3 (43-1), was critical of Bill C-23, Preclearance Act (42-1) for "allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agencies to detain and question people indefinitely" (February 2020)

Kody Blois

Political affiliation: Liberal Party of Canada
Constituency: Kings—Hants, Nova Scotia

• First elected in 2019 in the riding formerly held by former TBS President and Liberal MP Scott Brison
• Member of the Standing Committee for Agriculture and Agri-Food
• Blois completed degrees in commerce, law, and public administration - which sparked his interest in serving his community

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about compliance in the CLVS Program
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about challenges in enforcing removals during COVID-19 and about when Canada might have a voluntary departure program in place

Greg Fergus

Political affiliation: Liberal Party of Canada
Constituency: Hull—Alymer, Quebec
Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Digital Government

• First elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019
• Member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
• Former member of the Standing Committee on Finance
• Former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
• Chair of the Canadian Caucus of Black Parliamentarians, former National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada, and former political staffer in various Ministerial offices

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – E-commerce OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about the CBSA's legislative authority to require e-invoicing, and about increases to CLVS shipment volumes in recent years
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about efforts to improve data sharing among departments and to ensure interoperability between IRCC and CBSA systems
  • Government Orders
    • Defended the Government about the national approach to data collection, the Government's response to COVID-19 and the control measures at the border (October 2020)

Francesco Sorbara

Political affiliation: Liberal Party of Canada
Constituency: Vaughn—Woodbridge, Ontario
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue

• First elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019
• Member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
• Former member of the Standing Committee on Finance
• Sorbara is a chartered financial analyst and worked in the global financial markets for nearly 20 years in both Canada and the United States for Scotiabank, JPMorgan Chase, and global credit rating agency DBRS

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit, November 2020)
    • Asked about efforts to improve data sharing among departments and to ensure interoperability between IRCC and CBSA systems

Jean Yip

Political affiliation: Liberal Party of Canada
Constituency: Scarborough—Agincourt, Ontario

• First elected in a 2017 by-election and re-elected in 2019
• Member of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
• Former member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

Interest in the CBSA

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (PACP – Removals OAG Audit)
    • Asked about future programs to incentivize voluntary departure from Canada, and about the comparative experience of other jurisdictions with those programs
    • Asked about efforts to ensure interoperability between IRCC and CBSA systems