Modernizing infrastructure and processes at Canada's ports of entry: Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security—Study on Mandate Letter Commitments (March 21, 2024)

Land Border Crossing Project

Proposed response

As part of its commitment to modernizing border infrastructure, the Canada Border Services Agency is currently replacing outdated infrastructure at up to 24 land border ports of entry under the Land Border Crossing Project. In 2021, the Agency received project approval with an investment of $440 million over 7 years, two ports have already been replaced with a third currently under construction.

The Land Border Crossing Project seeks to re-build up to 24 of 107 custodial land ports with the poorest operational and building conditions including, up to three larger ports of entry of strategic regional importance.

These port replacements are planned to 2030 and will improve the border crossing experience for travellers and commercial operations, provide border services officers with upgraded infrastructure and technology, and bring outdated ports to modern day building standards in relation to greening, accessibility and gender neutral spaces.

The Land Border Crossing Project Office has engaged with local stakeholders on the re-build program including, Indigenous communities and other orders of government. The United States is also a key partner as they plan to re-build at the same time at several locations.

The CBSA is currently reviewing its program of work given rising rates of inflation in the construction industry which are impacting the affordability of the 24 sites in scope of the Land Border Crossing Project and is partnering with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) as the procurement authority and delivery agent on this project.

Background

The LBCP is a Canada Border Services Agency project to replace up to 24 land border Ports of Entry (POE or "ports") that are in poor physical and functional condition across Canada. New infrastructure will provide an improved working environment for border services officers and enhance the processing and detention of travellers and commercial goods. New buildings will include the most current requirements on security, technology, gender neutral and accessible spaces and as well as, using environmentally sustainable building technologies.

The current budget for the Land Border Crossing Project is $481 million, comprising $41 million of a Budget 2012 commitment relating to the Beyond the Border Action Plan, and a $440 million Budget 2015 commitment to expedite the replacement of border infrastructure.

Under the thirty-year expected lifespan of the Real Property Strategy, the Project is expected to replace or significantly upgrade the infrastructure of custodial ports of entry along Canada's land border. Of these, up to 24 ports have been identified as the first wave of Phase 1 of this Project, based on their poor operational and functional condition, or on the fact that they have come to the end of their lifecycle. These ports are owned by the Agency, and are located in the provinces of British Columbia (5), Alberta (2), Saskatchewan (3), Manitoba (5), Quebec (6), and New Brunswick (3). This first wave is currently expected to be completed by 2030.

The infrastructure designs included in the Project will standardize various port types across the country for a "common look and feel" and take into account the Agency's evolving work environment, including impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the modernization of business processes. Procurement strategies for this work will vary based on the model, location and unique needs of individual ports, and the Agency is working in partnership with Public Services and Procurement Canada in the development and implementation of these strategies.

The Agency has developed a robust internal and external stakeholder and communications plan to engage and inform over 250 stakeholder groups, including other orders of government (provincial, municipal), Indigenous communities in proximity to the ports in scope, as well as local communities. The CBSA is proactively engaging counterparts in the United States to align infrastructure programming on both sides of the border, particularly in light of the $3.4 billion funding announced to renew US land border ports (Canada-US and US-Mexico). Local communities will be informed of the Project via engagements at the municipal level.

On September 1, 2022, the Agency completed the first of these port replacements at Fraser, British Columbia. The upgraded Fraser port of entry was constructed using a modular building kit in partnership with Natural Resources Canada, a building and design method that contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and supports sustainable development commitments. The new energy efficient facility includes enhancements in safety, security and technology, while also meeting the requirements of Canada's northern weather. It replaces the former structure which opened in 1979.

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The CBSA is currently reviewing its program of work given rising rates of inflation in the construction services and materials industries, which are impacting the affordability of the 24 sites in scope under the Land Border Crossing Project.

CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) Project

Key messages

The Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project will enable modern, fair and fiscally responsible trade, helping to ensure that Canada keeps pace with global trade enablement advancements.

CARM will reduce administrative burden for importers and other trade partners and increase Government of Canada revenues.

CARM will address concerns raised by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with regard to the adequacy and integrity of the Agency's tax revenue accounting and reporting systems as well as recommendations from the Auditor General made in 2009, 2017, and 2023.

CARM is an investment in information technology infrastructure, replacing a 36-year-old legacy technology platform with one that is positioned to securely oversee the $40 billion in revenue collected by the CBSA annually.

CARM introduces a digital process for Canadian businesses to manage their accounts with the CBSA including submitting payments for duties and taxes owing on goods imported to Canada.

Background

The CARM project is multi-phased and will modernize the collection of duties and taxes for commercial goods imported into Canada. CARM will help to protect and grow over $800 billion in trade and $40 billion in revenue collected at the border each year.

With CARM, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is replacing a 36-year-old legacy system as well as eight additional legacy systems through multiple releases. Recognizing the investment and impact that CARM represents for industry and for the Government of Canada, the CBSA is taking a phased approach to CARM becoming the official system of record for the collection of duties and taxes for commercial goods imported into Canada. Phase 1, which was comprised of the development of the Accounts Receivable Ledger (ARL), was launched in 2016. Phase 2 of CARM is comprised of three major releases. The first release (Release 0) was launched in January 2021 while the second release (Release 1) was launched in May 2021. Since the launch of Release 1 in May 2021, importers, customs brokers, and trade consultants registered in the CARM Client Portal have been able to view importer transactions and statements of account, request rulings, and pay invoices with new electronic payment options.

On May 13, 2024 with the launch of Release 2, CARM will become the system used for the collection of duties and taxes at the border. With this launch, CARM is expected to deliver a number of immediate and ongoing benefits including greater efficiency, increased Government of Canada revenue, improved functionality for importers, and augmented reporting functionality. CARM will not be replacing the system used in the release of goods at the border, however it will represent a significant change to the ways in which the CBSA and trade chain partners do business. The CBSA will be implementing transitional measures to ease the transition to CARM.

The CARM Regulatory package was published in Canada Gazette, Part II on March 13, 2024.

Regulatory updates were made to:

• offer trade chain partners electronic self-service access to the CARM Client Portal (CCP)
• allow trade chain partners to provide the CBSA with: a security deposit electronically or an electronic confirmation that they have security to meet requirements under the Customs Act
• introduce simplified billing cycles and payment due dates

Further enhancements to CARM are expected to become available in fall 2024 and on an ongoing basis as the CBSA continues to adjust to the evolving needs of industry and the Government of Canada.

CBSA volumes and compliance: Facts and figures

Leveling the playing field

Through trade compliance, anti-dumping, and subsidy investigations, the CBSA plays an important role in leveling the playing field and protecting Canadian businesses from unfair business and import practices.

The Agency currently maintains a list of 50 goods subject to anti-dumping or countervailing measures. These measures help to support Canadian producers who face unfair foreign competition in the domestic marketplace.

Over half of the measures are in place to protect Canada's steel industry. In 2022, over $230 million was assessed in anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

As part of its efforts to promote voluntary compliance, the CBSA also regularly undertakes targeted trade compliance verifications. Over the past two years, these verifications have averaged a 17:1 return on investment.

Current verification priorities include spent fowl, furniture for non-domestic purposes, and apparel. The most recent results from these priorities – the product of multiple rounds of verifications over several years – include:

• Spent fowl: Over $250 million in duty assessed and over $200,000 in penalties
• Furniture for non-domestic purposes: Over $7 million in duty assessed and over $340,000 in penalties
• Apparel: Over $89 million in duty assessed and over $360,000 in penalties

Border wait times

Since 2019 to 2020, the CBSA has consistently exceeded its target of meeting the commercial border wait time standard 90% of the time.

Courier shipments

Courier shipments have more than doubled since 2019 to 2020

Commercial releases

Commercial release volumes have increased by about 3 million since 2019 to 2020.

Duties and taxes assessed

Duties and taxes assessed have increased by about $7.9 billion since 2019 to 2020.

Indigenous Border Mobility (Jay Treaty Border Alliance Collaboration Initiative and Implementation of the UNDA Action Plan Measure)

Proposed response

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is aware of the challenges that Canada's international borders has placed on Indigenous Peoples on their traditional territories; impacting their mobility, causing separation of families, challenges to national unity, governance, traditional practices, Indigenous language preservation, and cultural survival, ties, kinship and economic opportunities. The Agency is actively working with Indigenous partners to find solutions to mobility issues and to improving the border crossing experience.

Under direction from Prime Minister in December 2021, every Minister is required to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRIP) and to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to advance their rights and collaborate with communities to advance reconciliation.

In April 2022, the Jay Treaty Border Alliance, whose members are from Indigenous Nations along the Canada / United States border, and representatives from the Government of Canada, established the Jay Treaty Border Alliance - Collaborative Initiative.

The Minister of Public Safety is the co-convenor of the High Table, and works in partnership with Jay Treaty Border Alliance Senior Leadership and other Ministers. The High Table provides political leadership, oversight and guidance, and is the approval body for actions raised from the expanded Collaboration Initiative groups.

The CBSA holds membership in all of the extended groups of the Collaboration Initiative that are focused on the right of entry, border crossing experience, identification and travel documentation, and entry of goods.

Given Royal Assent in June 2023, the UNDRIP Action Plan, which was co-developed with Indigenous partners, implicates the CBSA and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in Shared Priority Action Plan Measure 52, relating to complex border crossing challenges.

The UNDRIP Action Plan implementation and the Jay Treaty Border Alliance - Collaboration Initiative share linkages, and are occurring in parallel, but they are two distinct streams of work.

The Jay Treaty Border Alliance - Collaboration Initiative High Table first met in October 2023, providing guidance to the technical tables, which continue to actively explore potential solutions to border challenges relevant to mobility rights, identification, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples and their cultural property.

Regional Roundtables and other discussions were held nationwide between October 2023 to February 2024, both in-person and virtually. This was in an effort to engage, consult, inform and collaborate with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to implement the Action Plan Measure Shared Priority 52.

The aim in 2024 is to pursue legislative and policy amendments informed by the work of the Jay Treaty Border Alliance - Collaborative Initiative, as well as participating in broader consultation and cooperation with Indigenous Peoples and representative organizations.

A summary report, "Reflecting Back and Looking Forward" will aim to be made available widespread for further review and feedback by Indigenous Peoples this month.

This year looks to be a year of moving forward, as a finalized consensus will inform further steps to seek changes in policy, regulation and legislation for a better way forward regarding border mobility of Indigenous Peoples.

Background

Many Indigenous Nations and communities have long flagged the adverse impact of colonial borders on their communities.

Signed by the United States and the British Crown in 1794, the Jay Treaty included a provision providing for the free passage of First Nations people and their personal property across what is now the Canada-United States border.

Many Indigenous Nations and communities hold that the Treaty constitutes recognition of a pre-existing Indigenous mobility right. They have long made the case that Canada should implement and honour the Treaty ─ just as the United States has done, at least partially, with a provision in its immigration law recognizing a right to enter, work, and study in the United States for "American Indians born in Canada," conditional upon meeting a blood quantum requirement. By comparison, Canada's right of entry is limited to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and persons registered under the Indian Act.

The commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act does provide an opportunity to advance, in modern form, the Indigenous mobility principle outlined in Article III of the Jay Treaty. The proposed Action Plan Measure – Shared Priorities 52 states:

Pursue legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, amendments to relevant Regulations and revisions to policies in order to address complex border crossing and migration challenges faced by Indigenous peoples divided by Canada's international borders, including options to amend Canada's right of entry provision, and work and study permit requirements.

The Jay Treaty Border Alliance represents a number of Indigenous Nations located in Canada and the United States and is one of several organizations ─ including national Indigenous organizations ─ that has called for changes to better facilitate border crossings for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In April 2022, the Jay Treaty Border Alliance held meetings in Ottawa with the objective of lobbying both elected and non-elected officials to implement provisions of the Jay Treaty, and through discussions, the Jay Treaty Border Alliance - Collaboration Initiative was born. High Table meetings followed in October 2022 and October 2023, with the next scheduled for April 2024.

There exist parallels, correlations and intersectionality across the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act implementation and the work being advanced under the Jay Treaty Border Alliance – Collaboration Initiative. However, there is a strong desire by Jay Treaty Border Alliance senior leadership to keep this work separate and to avoid conflating them.

It is understood from the Jay Treaty Border Alliance perspective that while Jay Treaty initiatives and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act implementation share linkages and are advancing parallel work, they are two distinct streams. Concerns have been expressed that one may potentially halt the progress of the other either by overshadowing or via conflation. The Collaboration Initiative work is separate from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act implementation, though the two can inform and guide one another.

Public Safety Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) share the views of other government departments in aligning thematically similar work, for example Indigenous border mobility under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, while respecting the views of its Indigenous partners, including the Jay Treaty Border Alliance, as we continue to explore separate, though parallel, conversations.

The path to legislative change on the right of entry under the Immigration Refugee Protection Act is a necessary component of this work. It will be important for the Government, with Public Safety in a supporting role, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Canada Border Services Agency as co-leads, to ensure that it continues to use facilitative measures when appropriate to address specific circumstances for Indigenous Peoples who may face barriers to their entry into Canada.

It will also be necessary to ensure that Public Safety and the CBSA remain sensitive to the ongoing impact this work has on marginalized Indigenous communities, and the compounding effects it has on. To ensure this impact is reduced, the CBSA has committed to continue to work in partnership with Indigenous communities to strengthen relationships.

Further, in order to reduce the ongoing impact of this work, Public Safety Canada, the CBSA and its government partners are committed to maintaining good communication between its federal officials and Jay Treaty Border Alliance officials to ensure there is collaborative dialogue on the continued need to advance effective solutions.

In line with government commitments, and as indicated in Action Plan Measure – Shared Priorities 52, engagement with Indigenous Peoples and their representative organizations will continue, with a view to advancing amendments and policy reforms in 2024. The summary report of what was heard through the Regional Roundtables, that were held in-person and virtually across the country from October 2023 to February 2024, is expected to be available by March 2024, with anticipation to submit a draft proposal to Ministers by the summer/fall of 2024. The Government of Canada will continue to build relationships and have discussions with international partners on Indigenous border crossing issues.