Executive Vice-President's Transition Binder 2019
Quebec Region

Message from the Acting Regional Director General

I am pleased to present the 2019 to 2020 Integrated Business Plan for the Quebec Region. All Quebec Region employees and myself, as Acting Regional Director General, are committed to serving effectively, transparently and professionally Canadians and those who visit our country. We work together to fulfill the Agency's mandate and support the Government of Canada's objectives.

For the current fiscal year, the Quebec Region is committed to:

• support the Agency's renewal to create the border of the future. We will continue to adjust our various regional governance committees in order to align with the three new branches and build on the opportunities offered by the functional management model
• continue the implementation of the risk-based compliance operational model
• efficiently manage our operational duties and the provision of services related to the traveller, commercial and trade, and intelligence and law enforcement sectors in order to achieve better operational and service outcomes, optimize resources, and take advantage of technology and data
• evolve the Agency's vision in connection with the CBSA's sustainability and modernization program in terms of service delivery
• promote the Agency's culture change, innovation and change management activities, including by making the most of staff management, adhering to budget allocations, and achieving the intended outcomes through improved efficiency and performance
• advance the implementation of functional guidance, such as standardized national tools, approaches and templates
• foster an organizational culture where trust, respect for diversity, genuine communication, and collaboration are present at all times

In the coming year, we will focus on:

• building on the expertise of Program Services, which provides advice and guidance services related to programs and operational issues, in addition to strengthening their capacity to support and report on strategic planning
• promoting the Informal Conflict Management System (ICMS), wellness initiatives, and the development of positive labour-management relations
• implementing various improvement activities, including short-term initiatives that will complement ongoing activities and affect both program management and operations as well as the organization as a whole

Annie Beauséjour
A/Regional Director General
Quebec Region

The Quebec Region's mandate and vision statement

Through integrated management of all operations associated with the Traveller, Commercial and Trade, and Intelligence and Law Enforcement sectors, ensure Canada's security and prosperity by managing the access of people and goods entering and leaving Quebec.

The Quebec Region has the mission to:

• Contribute to the Agency's renewal initiatives by supporting the transformation and modernization of our ways of working and stimulating culture change
• Collaborate in an ongoing manner on establishing the functional management model
• Promote and support staff management as a key aspect and ensure that adequate processes and tools are in place
• Encourage creativity and innovation for adapting our activities based on needs
• Achieve better operational and service outcomes by optimizing resources within budget allocations and by making the most of technology and data

Operational context: Quebec Region

The Quebec Region is the second-largest area (1.6 million km2) for which the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) must ensure the security and facilitate the movement of people and goods. The breadth and diversity of the region's operations present significant challenges to the efficient execution of operations and for managing risk at the border. Our activities and priorities must be constantly adjusted during the year according to the global context, the political context at the federal and provincial level and to the new pressures or incidents that we may face.

We therefore need to have a highly versatile staff. We value expertise development in the area of both the Customs Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in order to allow us to allocate our resources more efficiently during peak periods or when new operational pressures arise. However, the current difficulty in obtaining enough officer trainees (recruits) to fill departures or promotions within the region is increasing the pressure on our staff. Overtime is often used to ensure an operational minimum for meeting the service standards and ensuring there are two employees on duty at all times in small offices. In addition, the training campus does not provide training in all areas of the region. Many positions (TOD/EID) do not receive the necessary basic training in a timely manner. Quebec is also a bilingual region. We attach great importance in respecting official languages in our service offerings and as a language of work. Our employees must be bilingual.

Travellers

The Quebec Region shares an 813 km land border with four U.S. states. We have 30 land border offices that provide service to travellers. Quebec is one of the regions with the largest number of small border ports of entry. Those ports of entry are often isolated, and the volumes of travellers they receive are sometimes low. Regardless of the volumes seen at these offices, we have to ensure that two border services officers (BSOs) are present at all times during business hours.

A number of factors influence the number of travellers transiting Quebec through our borders and the resulting operations. Here are a few that are likely to make a difference over the coming months:

The fluctuations of the U.S. dollar and the global economic context have a definite impact on our operations involving travellers. The instability of the U.S. government could create a slowdown in Trusted Traveller programs in the event of a shutdown of the U.S. government, as occurred in the fall of 2018.

At the global level, the African swine fever is creating additional pressure in operations because the region needs to put measures in place at the various ports of entry to increase the vigilance of officers who must ensure that travellers do not facilitate the entry of this threat into Canada. This pressure could increase in the coming months.

The changes to the system for processing permanent residence applications by the Government of Quebec could also have a negative impact on our region's land ports of entry (POEs) in the short and medium terms. Any additional delay could very well increase the number of “flagpoling” cases as the number of foreigners nationals for whom an extension or renewal of status will be required will increase incidentally. Quite often, these individuals prefer to leave Canada and return right away at a land-based POE (referred to as flagpoling) to obtain a new status in Canada as a visitor, worker or student, rather than apply online through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

For several years now, Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (PET) has been experiencing steady growth in the number of travellers. In addition, the airport authority diligently looks for ways to maximize its operations and provide travellers with new direct flights. The lifting of the visa for Mexican citizens has also resulted in a significant increase in the workload of secondary immigration at PET, both for checking travellers' admissibility and for processing refugee claimants. Therefore, this requires the management team to be creative and rethink the ways of doing things in order to keep wait times at the desired level, while keeping up the efforts to counter threats and maintaining services. New technologies, such as PIK terminals, allow us to increase our capacity to process travellers. However, they are not always stable, which often leads to system outages, which resources in place must compensate for. Better IT support and/or a review of the systems would be required to reduce this pressure.

In addition to all these business lines, the Quebec Region regularly receives requests for increased services for regional airports. For example, the Saint-Hubert and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu airports would like to receive international flights. The process is currently at its early stage, but if these projects come to fruition, they will put more pressure on our operations and our staff.

The region currently has nine teams of detector dogs that support us in fulfilling our mandate. It is anticipated that at least two more teams will be added this year.

Commercial

The Quebec Region provides commercial services throughout its territory, in various modes. We operate in the marine, air, rail, land and postal modes. Our region manages 241 sufferance warehouses, 11 duty-free shops, and 81 storage warehouses for a total of 333 warehouses. This represents 26% of all warehouses under CBSA's responsibility across Canada. The Quebec Region is definitely the region with the most warehouses to manage.

The change in the value of the U.S. dollar, as well as the global economic context, could create instability for our commercial operations. The implementation of the new North American Free Trade Agreement, while relatively well received, could also impact our operations once it is ratified.

The Quebec Region is known for its excellent expertise within the Trade Operations Division (TOD). Headquarters (HQ) frequently seeks input from our most experienced employees to deliver on CBSA's priorities in establishing policies, procedures and developing national tools. The TOD is also responsible for a Border Information Service (BIS). This division must continuously adjust to changes in the commercial world. It is also sensitive to changes in the political climate that result in changes to the legislation, free trade agreements, and tariffs. As a result, we must keep the importing customers informed of these changes, as we must inform our employees. In this context, BIS is much more in demand. The division's risk management unit needs to improve its target identification actions. There is additional pressure on the administration of certain programs directly affected by the changes. They must ensure that clients comply with the legislation so that there is no unfair competition between the various commercial importers. On the other hand, audit priorities are changing on a regular basis, and as a result, our resources must constantly grow in different areas of application while increasing their workload.

Lastly, several of our business partners are currently working on expansion projects which, if implemented, will result in a significant increase in our commercial volumes (Contrecoeur terminal, Beauport terminal, maximize air cargo, etc.).

Enforcement

Many of the current government's priorities are related to law enforcement, including irregular refugee claimants, the national detention framework and removals, thus creating significant pressure on this directorate. The global context also has a major influence on the  pressure on immigration programs in Canada.

In addition, several American temporary immigrant protection programs are coming to an end this year. If not renewed, the number of irregular refugee claimants could increase. We are also seeing an increase in the number of travellers seeking asylum from Mexico.  This will put additional pressure on our enforcement units in the coming months.

Furthermore, the significant increase in refugee claimants that the Quebec Region has been dealing with for over two years has required many adjustments in our operations. We reviewed the procedure for processing refugee claimants upon arrival. However, the pressure continues to increase on the Hearings team, who has to process these claims. Although the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has increased the number of its members in order to speed up the processing of applications, the CBSA is struggling to sustain this new pace due to a lack of additional resources. The report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of Canada regarding the procedure for processing refugee claimants confirmed that changes will be needed in order to process these claims in a timely manner. This year, the OAG will conduct an audit of the referral process. The report resulting from this audit could put additional pressure on this already very busy section.

On the other hand, the unstable situation in some countries is forcing the CBSA to suspend removals to these destinations, compromising the targets and maintaining foreign nationals in an imminent situation of removal in the country for an indefinite period of time. In addition, the number of enforcement officers (EOs) currently in place, may be insufficient to meet the desired removals volumes.

Lastly, the new detention framework requires adjustments to our work methods. Although desirable, the alternatives to detention are not always easy to implement. The region deals with many nationals for whom identity is difficult to prove. Therefore, it is a question of finding a balance between ensuring security in the country by completing the risk assessment processes and continuing our efforts to promote detention with alternative measures when possible.

Primary responsibilities

Travellers

The CBSA, Quebec Region, provides service to travellers throughout its territory and is present in various modes. In fact, the Quebec Region operates at two international airports, 22 secondary airports, 30 land border crossings, and in the marine and rail modes. Between 2018 and 2019, more than 12.8 million travellers were processed in the Quebec Region (all modes combined), including trusted travellers who used CANPASS, NEXUS or the Pilot Project for Travellers in Remote Areas (PPTRA-Q).

It's important to highlight the significant volumes of immigration facilitation activities that are carried out in our offices, particularly at PET and Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle. In addition, the POEs are increasingly being sought for immigration services that are not provided within the country in a timely manner by IRCC.

Beyond the usual operational activities of the traveller program, the Quebec Region is distinguished by certain initiatives that are not present in all regions.

Remote processing: Morses Line land office

This office provides remote traveller processing for citizens and permanent residents of Canada and the United States from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Initially, remote processing was conducted at the Hamilton CPC. Since November 5, 2018, remote processing is done from the Saint-Armand POE. The technology in place has been proven successful. The region would now like to provide remote processing at any time for this office. However, closing the office between midnight and 8:00 a.m. is desired due to the low volumes processed during this specific period (less than 5 vehicles per month), in addition to allowing the harmonization of our hours of service with those of USCBP.

Air Carrier Support Centre (ACSC) for monitoring electronic travel authorizations (eTAs)

Although still a “pilot project”,  the ACSC has partial long-term funding (50%). However, the entire ACSC project at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Pearson Airport is currently under review, and its future is uncertain. If the ACSC at PET were to close, the region would lose flexibility for adaptation cases. However, if the entire project is repatriated to PET, significant pressures in terms of staffing, including funding of new positions, are to be expected.

Trusted travellers

The Quebec Region has one claim processing centre and three registration centres for CANPASS, NEXUS, PPTRA-Q Trusted Traveller Programs and for drivers participating in the FAST program.

Pilot Project for Travellers in Remote Areas: Quebec (PPTRA-Q)

The Pilot Project for Travellers in Remote Areas: Quebec (PPTRA-Q) was launched on July 14, 2014, replacing the Q19 program. The PPTRA-Q is offered at the following five POEs: Sainte-Aurélie, Saint-Just-de-Bretenières, Saint-Pamphile, Pohenegamook and Saint-Zacharie. This project allows authorized participants to report to these POEs and make their declaration by phone during designated hours of service when no officers are on site. The PPTRA-Q has made it possible to significantly expand service offerings in the regions at low cost.

As a result of the success of the PPTRA-Q program, the CBSA made the decision in the fall of 2018 to convert the pilot project into a trusted travellers program. Following this decision, regulatory changes are being implemented to formalize the program. In addition, the implementation of technological solutions would ensure better border integrity at the POEs of the PPTRA-Q.

Indicators/Milestones: Travellers

A land office and an airport do not incur the same expenses by volume because of the technologies used, the clientele, and the operating costs of the offices. For these reasons, the region wishes to remain cautious in monitoring the performance of the POEs, and we suggest that the cost per passenger cannot be an effective performance indicator. Therefore, for the next year, the region will use the indicators identified by the Travellers Directorate. However, we are open to work on analyzing these indicators in order to determine whether, in the future, a new approach would be desirable and more representative to properly measure performance.

For the next year, the Quebec Region will try to adequately support the performance indicators identified by the Travellers Branch. The indicators are as follows:

Result 1: Admissible travellers are processed efficiently

Related indicators:

• Percentage of time that the CBSA meets the Highway Border Wait Time Service Standard.
  Target: at least 95%
• Percentage of travellers using primary inspection kiosks (PIKs) at airports equipped with this system.
  Target: at least 95%

Result 2: Travellers and their goods are compliant with the applicable legislation

Related indicators:

• Percentage of traveller examinations that produced a result (enforcement and facilitation actions).
  Target: at least 31%
• Percentage of examinations of travellers' goods that produced a result (enforcement or facilitation actions).
  Target: at least 20%

Result 3: The Trusted Traveller and Trader Programs increase the processing efficiency of preapproved, low-risk travellers and trade partners

Related indicators:

• Percentage of time that the CBSA meets the NEXUS Highway Border Wait Time Service Standard.
  Target: at least 95%
• Ratio of trusted travellers referred for examination compared to conventional travellers.
  Target: At most 1:5

Commercial

The Quebec Region is one of the three regions responsible for a postal sorting centre. Two teams of drug and firearm detector dogs will be added shortly in the postal mode. Our commercial operations also include a refund centre for casual imports, a marine container processing centre, five commercial rail links that facilitate the entry of goods, and five offices dedicated solely to commercial operations. The processing of low value shipments (LVS) is one of our major commercial lines of business. Some of our districts have dedicated resources for strategic export control.

Our TOD covers the Atlantic and Quebec territories. The 11 teams of the division promote compliance with the law and regulations relating to trade and commerce by carrying out checks on the value-for-duty, tariff classification, tariff treatment and origin of products, duty relief program, and the processing of requests for advance rulings and requests for declaration adjustments. A team assesses the risk in these various programs as well as the corrective measures to be issued. The BIS is responsible for answering questions from the importing community and travellers.

It should also be noted that, in Quebec, the commercial vehicle importation process differs from the one in effect in the other regions. In order to meet the provincial requirements, the use of Form 1 is mandatory, resulting in delays in importation and sometimes additional costs for the importer.

Also, the Quebec Region, at the commercial level, has a unique program.

Remote Areas Commercial Reporting Interim Program (RACRIP)

The forest products industry is a major player in eastern Quebec, specifically in the Appalachians sector. Due to their remoteness from large centres, the offices of the East Border District are the only ones to offer the Remote Areas Commercial Reporting Interim Program (RACRIP). On February 2, 2015, the RACRIP was officially implemented in nine of the district's offices. This interim program responds to the many challenges of implementing eManifest for this industry, at some of the Quebec Region's remote offices or roads where communication infrastructure is non-existent. Even today, some remote regions in the United States where carriers load and transport wood do not provide any means of communication to provide the required information in advance to the CBSA.

Indicators/Milestones: Commercial

As with the travellers stream, the Quebec Region decided to stick to the indicators identified by the Commercial and Trade Branch for the coming year. We are confident that we can achieve these indicators.

Result 1: Admissible commercial goods and conveyances are processed (including collection of revenues) in an efficient manner.

Related indicator:

Percentage of time that the CBSA met the commercial border wait time service standard
Target: Service standard of 45 minutes, 90% of the time, on average

Result 2: Trade partners are compliant with applicable legislation, requirements and measures.

Related indicators:

• Percentage of commercial examinations that produced a result against a trader
  Target: 1.5% at most
• Return on investment (ROI) for targeted verifications
  Target: at least 8:1
• Percentage of revenue-based targeted trade compliance verifications that yielded a result
  Target: at least 60%
• Percentage of imports potentially subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties verified to ensure compliance
  Target: At least 80% of the value for duty of the goods

Result 3: Trusted Trader Programs increase processing efficiency of low-risk, preapproved trade partners.

Related indicators:

• Ratio of conventional traders and their goods that are examined at the border compared to Trusted Traders and their goods
  Target: At least 2.5:1

Intelligence and Enforcement

The Quebec Region has an enforcement and intelligence division with significant expertise. It is able to support front-line operations by promoting the enforcement measures necessary to maintain the integrity of the various programs.

Intelligence

The Quebec Region's Intelligence Division comprises approximately 85 employees, officers, analysts, research officers, administrative employees and managers working throughout Quebec. In support of CBSA operations and law enforcement organizations in Canada and abroad, their mandate is to gather, analyze, collate and disseminate information on activities suspected of contravening Canadian legislation, especially when they pose a threat to the health and safety of Canadians and to the Canadian economy.

As part of their duties, regional intelligence officers conduct investigations in the field. Regional analysts produce trend and risk analyses. Research officers assist the officers of the various areas of the CBSA in their collection plan through the introduction, extraction, compilation and communication of information in the databases. Although its operations cover a multitude of areas whose primary objective is to serve CBSA's operations, the Division concentrates a great deal of effort on the areas of terrorism, illegal immigrants, money laundering, strategic exports and narcotics for the sole purpose of ensuring adequate risk management for border protection.

The large number of refugee claimants who enter Canada illegally between ports of entry continues to mobilize resources including for the analysis of travel documents or others from foreign nationals whose identity has not been established with certainty.

Immigration investigations

The EOs in the Investigation Section have the mandate to identify, locate, apprehend, report and detain individuals who are inadmissible, including those associated with criminal acts, organized crime, war crimes or crimes against humanity. Their approach is based on risk assessment and the balance between the safety of the Canadian public and facilitation. The officers work closely with Canadian and international law enforcement partners and in partnership with foreign officials and consulates. The Investigation Section serves Quebec's vast territory from its offices in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec City and Gatineau. The team provides 24/7 availability to internal and external partners.

To address the influx of refugee claimants entering Canada irregularly, the Quebec Region established a Regional Processing Centre (RPC) and an Urban Processing Centre (UPC), structures that are not present in all regions.

Detention

The Quebec Region has an Immigration Holding Centre (IHC) in Laval, where most of the individuals detained by the CBSA are held and housed. The IHC aims to be a secure and adapted detention environment for migrants. Its mandate is to house, transport and ensure the security of individuals detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Violent individuals and/or individuals with a significant criminal history are referred to the Rivière-des-Prairies (RDP) provincial detention centre. The IHC can house up to 109 detainees.

Hearings

This section's mandate is to maintain the integrity of the immigration program and ensure the safety of all Canadians by representing Canada's Minister of Public Safety or Minister of IRCC before the Immigration Division, the Immigration Appeal Division, the Refugee Protection Division, and the Refugee Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The work involves representing the Department's interests by ensuring that we have the best evidence available and being aware of the recent case law that applies to the cases to be defended. Hearings officers represent the Minister at, among other things, detention reviews, investigations that can lead to removal orders, loss of permanent residence, sponsorship refusal, and refugee interventions. It is important to note one regional characteristic, which is that the Triage team is responsible for analyzing refugee claims for all of Eastern Canada.

Removals

The EOs in the Removals Section ensure that foreign nationals who are under an enforceable removal order leave Canada immediately or that the enforceable removal order is enforced as soon as possible. Once legal and regulatory barriers have been lifted, removals are managed efficiently and fairly. The officers make arrangements to escort individuals subject to a removal order. To do so, they work closely with the Investigations Section and external partners such as IRCC, foreign consular authorities and immigration services from other countries to ensure the smooth operation of transits  and escort services, among others. The rapid arrival of a large number of failed refugee claimants in the inventory of removals currently represents a major challenge for the Quebec Region. The unstable situation in Haiti, and the issuing of a stay of removal twice in recent months, adds to the pressure by preventing removals that officers have already invested a lot of time and work on.

Criminal investigations

The Criminal Investigations Division's program supports CBSA officers in a number of ways. It makes it possible to respond in the event of illegal activities, to conduct criminal investigations, to arrest offenders, to lay charges, and to assist the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in criminal prosecutions. It makes it possible to gather evidence, lay charges, impose civil assessments and convey the consequences of non-compliance after release, as part of the enforcement and compliance operations. It assists other law enforcement agencies by providing them with expertise and assistance. BSOs are the CBSA's first line of defence, while the investigators are the final link in the enforcement chain.

Because of the territory to be covered in Quebec, the travel costs of criminal investigators are significant. They must deal with various criminal courts depending on the geographic location where the offences were committed. Criminal investigations maintain a strong partnership with the Quebec police and work closely on many large files.

Indicators/Milestones: Enforcement

For the next year, the Quebec Region will try to adequately support the performance indicators identified by the Intelligence and Enforcement Branch.

Result 1: The CBSA's intelligence activities and threat- and risk-assessment activities support CBSA programs through identification and interception of high-risk individuals, goods and conveyances that pose a threat to the safety and security of Canadians

Related indicators:

• Percentage of threats identified that lead to an enforcement action or inadmissibility recommendation
  Target: at least 18.00%
• Ratio of the value of intelligence-led seizures to the value of non-intelligence-led seizures
  Target: at least 20:1

Result 2: Immigration investigations identify individuals inadmissible to Canada

Related indicator:

Percentage of immigration investigations concluded that result in a person being identified as inadmissible to Canada.
Target: at least 55%

Result 3: CBSA detention decisions are risk-based, and detention is used as a measure of last resort

Related indicator:

Percentage of persons subject to detention for immigration purposes enrolled into alternatives to detention programs.
Target: at least 10%

Result 4: CBSA admissibility recommendations and appeals are upheld at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Related indicators:

• Percentage of inadmissibility referrals and appeals made to the Immigration and Refugee Board that result in an inadmissibility or ineligibility determination
  Target: at least 70%
• Percentage of Ministerial interventions (at the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeals Division) and appeals that result in a negative refugee determination
  Target: at least 70%

Result 5: Inadmissible persons subject to removal depart from Canada (i.e. escorted or unescorted)

Related indicators:

• Number of persons subject to removal who voluntarily comply with their departure order
  Target: at most 1,000
• Percentage of high-priority foreign nationals removed (i.e. on grounds of serious inadmissibility such as criminality, war crimes, security)
  Target: at most 80%
• Median number of days to enforce a removal order from Canada
  Target: at most 360 days

Result 6: People and businesses that are referred to Crown counsel for prosecution are convicted

Related indicator:

Percentage of prosecutions that result in a conviction.
Target: at least 80%

The Branch's financial information

Commercial and Trade Sector

Enforcement and Intelligence

Travellers

Internal Services

Branch's financial information: Totals

Summary table of the Branch's risks

In addition to the risks already identified in the integrated business plans of the three operational Branches (Travellers, Commercial, Enforcement) to which the Quebec Region adheres, we would now like to present to you the main regional risks that we have identified and that are negatively impacting our ability to properly deliver our mandate and meet the desired service standards.

Organizational Risks

Risk 1: Staffing:
Inability to recruit the human resources required to ensure regional operations

Risk exposure: High

The Quebec Region needs to fill its vacant positions in order to stabilize its operational structure, reduce the pressure on existing employees, and reduce the reliance on overtime.

• Continue collaboration for improving the strategy for training and allocating recruits (the number of recruits currently coming out of the Rigaud campus does not meet all the resourcing needs at the FB level)
• Consider external recruiting (at CEGEPs and universities) for certain positions at the EID (hearing advisors and officers), at the TOD (trade operations officers) and in the Programs (program officers)
• Promote more flexible work arrangements for competing with other organizations and attracting resources

Risk 2: Instability of the IT systems:
Reduces the region's operational capability

Risk exposure: Medium

The outages of the various computer systems, which are beyond our control and which are faced regularly by the region, have a significant impact on our ability to perform the operations on time. Here are two specific examples:

[readcted]

• At the national level, make every effort to provide a stable platform and ensure smooth running without hindering operations
• At the local level, apply the existing contingency plans, especially at airports, in situations requiring urgent action (high-volume periods)

[redacted]

Contribute to search for solutions with headquarters

In addition, the planned updates sometimes cause significant delays in the processing of travellers [redacted].

[redacted]

Risk 3: Vehicle fleet:
Obsolescence of the vehicle fleet

Risk exposure: Medium

For a number of years now, the Quebec Region has been unable to obtain replacements for the vehicles in its fleet in a timely manner and based on their life cycle. In addition, the current number of vehicles in the regional fleet no longer meets the operational needs of districts and divisions. Therefore, a number of issues are associated with this problem.

Operational risks:

• The number of vehicles equipped to transport detainees is insufficient and may cause difficulties in providing this transportation in a timely manner
• Teams of detector dogs will be added to our operations shortly (Guns & Gangs and Swine Fever), but it remains uncertain whether we will receive the required vehicles in a timely manner
• The number of vehicles is inadequate to support the movements of employees called in to assist at other ports of entry or required to clear at another designated location (example: St-Hubert Airport)

Safety concerns:

• Several vehicles have exceeded their life cycle and are in poor condition, which puts users in danger. It becomes difficult to prevent breakdowns and accidents due to the aging of the mechanical parts
• Several vehicles are not adequately equipped and appropriately coloured for the enforcement teams' monitoring operations, putting employees at risk

Financial risks:

• Not adhering to the vehicles' life cycles increases maintenance and repair costs
• The insufficient number of vehicles requires the region to authorize the use of personal vehicles for work-related travel, increasing travel expenses

Therefore, it is crucial for the region to continue its efforts and its pressure on headquarters for:

• Reiterating the importance of obtaining adequate funding to ensure a sufficient number of vehicles in the regional fleets
• Facilitating the procurement process and ensuring that the right vehicles and required equipment are obtained based on the use of the vehicles
• Stressing the importance of adhering to the replacement cycles so that the vehicles are safe, reliable and meet the standards

Risk 4: CCTV:
The camera systems are obsolete.

Risk exposure: Medium

Many times over the past few years, the Quebec Region has stressed the importance of having working camera systems in the various POEs.

• Not replacing the components of the camera systems and the cameras themselves, when they reach the end of their life or when they are broken, hinders our ability to meet operational needs and to ensure the safety of our workplaces
• In some offices, we are no longer even able to view the images of certain parts of the facilities, which puts us at risk as an organization in terms of security

Therefore, the issues with the camera systems are of great concern, given our inability not only to fund the work, but also to get the work done for which we received funding.

The region must continue to promote at headquarters:

• The importance of having a person in charge of managing the CCTVs
• The need for obtaining adequate funding to ensure that the POEs have adequate camera equipment in good condition
• Reviewing the contracting process to ensure that the targeted companies are able to provide the required service

Operational Risks

Risk 1: Hearings:
Difficulty reducing the backlog of cases and processing cases in a timely manner

Risk exposure: High

It's important to note that the IRB has increased its capacity by hiring new members and processing cases on an expedited manner. This puts a lot of pressure on the CBSA, which is unable to increase its resources accordingly. The OAG also pointed out, during its audit on refugee claimants, that the processes should be reviewed to reduce delays deemed unreasonable.

It is essential for the region to encourage:

• Recruiting (internal and external) of human resources for increasing our capacity
• Streamlining the number of Departmental interventions
• Streamlining the triage process (under development)

Risk 2: Refugee claimants:
The significant increases in the volumes of regular and irregular refugee claimants, which are difficult to predict, may limit our ability to respond within the desired processing times

Risk exposure: Medium

Irregular refugee claimants:

Although the processing procedure and the infrastructure are already in place in the region for handling this type of claim (RPC and UPC), a significant increase in volumes could result in operational pressures. In order to limit this impact, it is necessary to:

• Keep the contingency plans up to date
• Maintain the surge capacity to ensure the availability of an adequate number of FB resources
• Continue to standardize RPC and UPC operations under the same governance to facilitate efficiency measures
• Continue to give training sessions to the BSOs in order to increase immigration expertise and the capacity to process these types of cases
• Maintain relationships with partners (RCMP, IRCC, Province of Quebec, etc.)

Mexican refugee claimants:

The lifting of the Mexican visa has resulted in a significant increase in the number of travellers from Mexico claiming refugee status upon arriving at PET. This is impacting the airport's ability to process these claims.

• Ensure an adequate number of resources capable of processing these claims
• Work with the UPC and ask for their assistance in order to increase the ability to process adjourned cases
• Work on solutions for limiting problems involving transportation to a processing or accommodation centre
• Plan for the capacity to provide basic care (food) for people awaiting processing and basic care

Risk 3: Detention program:
Difficulty ensuring the integrity of the new national detention framework

Risk exposure: Medium

Although the Quebec Region is fully committed to the new national detention framework, which has been in place for just over a year, our operations have not yet managed to optimally incorporate all the requirements connected with that framework. In order to improve our methods and limit the risk pertaining to the integrity of the detention program, we will continue the following efforts:

• Maintain our regional strategy for reviewing detention cases, which helps improve the quality of detention cases
• Promote the voice recognition project as an alternative to detention
• Organize blitzes with individuals already subject to conditions in order to suggest to them that they register for the voice reporting program
• Promote more regular communication with POE officers and Community Liaison Officers (CLOs) to raise the officers' awareness of the alternatives available and to identify those liaison officers as resources for questions about ATDs
• Continue our efforts to limit the accommodating of minors, despite the high number of irregular refugee claimants who arrive without documentation for proving their identity and family connections
• Ensure better data entry into the systems
• Develop training and coaching to facilitate the implementing of changes

Risk 4: Removals:
Difficulty maintaining the expected pace

Risk exposure: Medium

Individuals in Canada (including refugee claimants) who are found to be inadmissible benefit from lengthy delays before they are removed, which undermines the integrity of the immigration system. According to the IRPA, removal orders must be executed as soon as possible.

However, considering the composition of the inventory, the region is experiencing difficulties maintaining a sufficient pace for reducing that inventory satisfactorily.

To help us, here is what we will do:

• Establish a quality control process to support informed and timely decision-making
• Get involved in the data integrity community for the removal process
• Improve inventory tracking and data integrity
• Put in place a removal inventory management model
• Strengthen quality control and the monitoring of the process
• Ensure effective prioritization of removal cases

Risk 5: African swine fever:
Ensure our ability to prevent the threat

Risk exposure: Low to medium

The risk of African swine fever entering Canada is very high, and the Quebec Region cannot ignore the importance of combating this threat.

In the coming months, sustained efforts will be made to:

• Continue awareness-raising among the BSOs
• Issue AAFAMPs (agri-food and agriculture administrative monetary penalties) when required
• Educate travellers through posters and screens in the departure and arrival areas of PET
• Initiate trade targets issued in ACROSS to ensure that pork products are checked
• Participate in the CFIA's sampling project that will gather pork products at PET
• Take on an additional detector dog team

Risk 6: Secondary commercial examination:
[redacted]

Risk exposure: Low

Within the Quebec Region, offices are designated solely for commercial operations. Those offices have an operational capacity for conducting secondary examinations when required.

[redacted]

[redacted]

With the aim of maximizing its operational capacity and risk management, the Quebec Region therefore believes that attention must be paid to:

• Assessing the risk profile of these offices based on the volumes and types of commercial activities
• Reviewing the services designations of these offices
• Considering the need to limit the commercial activities of these offices to clients registered as Trusted Traders
• Providing operational capacity for secondary commercial examinations in the replacement plans of these offices

Risk 7: Highly toxic substances:
Setting up DSEAs

Risk exposure: Low

There is a real possibility of our operations again facing significant contamination from a highly toxic substance. Not all POEs are adequately equipped yet to deal with this threat. Therefore, we must continue the following efforts:

• Updating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to include all modes
• Continuing to set up a designated safe examination area (DSEA) in the following offices:
  • Montreal Marine and Rail Services (Tellier)
  • St Bernard de Lacolle: Hwy 15, Commercial
  • Saint-Armand
  • Stanstead: Hwy 55
  • PET: Travellers (by 2020 to 2021)
  • St-Bernard-De-Lacolle: Hwy 15, Travellers (2020 to 2021)
  • JLIA (2020 to 2021)
• The establishing of a designated safe sampling and analysis area (DSSAA) planned for the St. Lawrence district raises a number of issues
  • Need for further discussion on this subject

Improvement activities

A number of improvement activities were identified by the Branches (Travellers, Commercial and Enforcement), for which the Quebec Region will definitely be committed to supporting and being involved in their implementation. However, we saw fit appropriate to define the improvement activities that are specific to our region and that, we hope, will help us better address the risks identified above and some of the operational pressures that are present on a daily basis.

Review of the Quebec Region's governance structure

In order to align with the new functional management, which has been in place since April 2019, and to foster better management of the regional risks identified, the Quebec Region wants to review its governance structure. The main objectives are to promote:

• Functional alignment of the region's operations with the three main pillars of the new national structure, and a balance of the workloads among the three Vice-Presidents
• More adequately support the standardization of operations relating to irregular refugee claimants by integrating them under a single governance and consolidating the removal-related operations by strategically positioning these two priorities at the centre of enforcement activities
• Re-balance the number of EX-01 and EX-02 positions in the region to improve opportunities for development and career advancement

Therefore, the next steps are to:

• Seek approval of the proposed new structure
• Implement the new structure within the region

Alternatives to detention: using voice recognition

As desired by the new national detention framework, the Quebec Region is seeking to:

• Improve the control of individuals released into the community, while protecting the integrity of the immigration system
• Enable officers to manage their clients more effectively while maintaining a balance in enforcement and the client's risk profile
• Pursue the objective of achieving a 10% rate of individuals on the way to detention who are directed to and involved in an alternative to detention

To achieve this, the region is therefore encouraging the implementation of a voice reporting system (VRS) as an alternative to detention:

• The VRS is an integral part of alternatives to detention and can be used in conjunction with other conditions
• The VRS allows clients to report their presence to the CBSA by phone, by calling the automated system. The VRS allows for geolocation

The negative risks that may be encountered are:

• Reliability of the voice recognition and geolocation system
• Limited access to a single indoor office for an isolation room to complete the VRS recording. This limits access to this solution for the regional offices and for clients who live outside the Montreal area

Whereas the positive risks are:

• An alternative intended to reduce the risks posed by an individual in the context of maintaining the integrity of the immigration system
• Frees up resources due to reduced controls at the counter
• The IRB has given its formal approval to transfer conditions of going to the counter to reporting by telephone with the VRS

The next steps are:

• Putting operational procedures in place
• Sending letters to inform clients that they may be eligible for reporting by telephone instead of going in person to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) office
• Registration blitz, spring 2019

Establishing a regional detention records review committee

The Quebec Region is committed to complying with the requirements of the new national detention framework and improving the quality of its detention records.

• As of October 2018, as part of the directive on control and governance of immigration detentions, a monthly review of compliance with the requirements of the detention files has been requested
• The expectation is for all records to comply with the detention policies and procedures in effect and for all the information, including decisions, to be clearly expressed and properly recorded in the NCMS and the GCMS when required. The physical verification for each record must be done and corrective action taken when necessary and possible

In order to properly coordinate the introduction of this monthly check, we have set up a regional detention records review committee that brings together representatives from the inland offices of the EID and the points of entry.

• Conference calls are held every month to express the expectations regarding everyone's roles and responsibilities in these checks and with the aim of making the necessary adjustments for improving compliance from month to month
• Weekly coordination and supervision is done by a program officer, thus checking the progress of detention record entries
• Regular coordination and contact with the Detention OPPS Division at HQ
• Implementation of a Detention Record Checklist and a guide on the forms to be filled out for assisting officers/supervisors

The detention records review enables us to identify certain negative risks in order to properly fulfill the desired mandate:

• Large volumes of detention records require significant mobilization of resources and time for performing these checks
• Extracting statistics is not always reliable: the statistics represent what the GCMS and NCMS systems contain, based on the data entered by the officers. There are inconsistencies between the data entered into the GCMS and NCMS and the legislative reality of that same case, which creates distortion when extracting and analyzing the data extracted using Cognos. In the Quebec Region, the POEs don't have access to the NCMS; the data entry is done by the IHC officers. Obtaining information is sometimes problematic

However, this working group also enabled us to identify the following positive risks:

• Remediation of the content quality of detention records
• Highlighting of issues for which we are developing solutions
• Helps connect the various sectors involved so that they coordinate their activities in order to make them more effective and efficient
• Proposal for a pilot project for rectifying major problems in the GCMS, like the electronic signature, for example
• Finding permanent solutions for improving and facilitating the detention process (Bulk Upload, requires added forms generated by the GCMS)

Therefore, the next steps are:

• To continue our efforts to improve our methods. For example, a significant change will be made for entering detention data into NCMS. In the near future, a team from the OSIST will do the data entries for all detention records
• To continue giving training and reminders to the officers

Regional strategy for improving the removal process

Canada has experienced a very sharp increase in refugee claims since the fall 2016. These very high volumes have put a lot of pressure on the Quebec Region's operations, especially on the number of individuals who are ready for removal. The data available in the various systems (e.g. GCMS, NCMS, Cognos) as well as the inventory of removal cases were not up to date. As a result, the various decision-making levels were unable to base their decisions on reliable information and statistics in a timely manner.

Therefore, the region felt it was important to develop a regional strategy for improving the removal process with the goal being:

• To determine the extent to which the current structure and practices support the objectives of the removals program
• To create a working group to target, contain and rectify the problem
• To improve the current structure and operational framework in order to make the data reliable for case management and decision-making
• To recommend potential solutions for mitigating the risks

Without concrete action, the following negative risks will remain:

• Public confidence in the immigration system will be eroded due to its inability to prevent the entry or removal of inadmissible persons
• Confidence in the credibility and reliability of the government and its institutions could be compromised if Canada is perceived as harbouring criminals, human rights violators, and terrorists
• A large number of people deemed inadmissible who remain in Canada without legal status will be illegally hired and will have access to government programs and services

The positive risks of implementing such a strategy are:

• Improving our ability to process greater volumes
• Strengthening the process at the border. Proceeding with the removal of failed claimants as soon as possible (quickly)
• Prioritizing removal cases involving issues pertaining to national security, organized crime, crimes against humanity and criminality

The milestones expected to be achieved in 2019 to 2020 are the following:

• Implementing a model for managing the removal inventory
• Improving quality control and monitoring of the process
• Ensuring effective prioritization of removal cases
• Increasing the overall number of removals
• Allocating resources within an efficient operational structure
• Providing management with the ability to mobilize resources and ensure accountability of them
• Updating the training products and work tools
• Being involved in the data integrity community for the removal process
• Protecting against the potential risks that may arise if individuals under a removal order were to remain in Canada
• Identifying cases that have not been processed and locating the individuals

Standardizing the operations pertaining to irregular refugee claimants

The Quebec region has been experiencing a significant increase in the volumes of irregular refugee claimants for over two years, and no decrease in volumes is expected over the next year. To maximize its processing capacity, the procedure for processing refugee claimants was reviewed in two phases, forcing the region to establish a regional processing centre (RPC) at the Saint-Bernard de Lacolle POE and an urban processing centre (UPC) within the EID. Since April 2019, the activities related to irregular refugee claimants have been designated as under the responsibility of the Enforcement Branch.

Therefore, the Quebec Region is currently trying to standardize its operations for irregular refugee claimants under the same governance, while continuing the efforts to find new efficiency measures in the processing procedure.

The negative risks that will still be present are:

• Hard-to-predict volumes of refugee claimants
• Lack of resources (BSOs) within the region
• Lack of BSOs with the required immigration expertise

However, the positive risks with implementing this new structure are:

• Better sharing of resources and expertise
• Decision-making processes under the same governance
• Strengthening the border processes and expediting claim processing

Therefore, the next steps are:

• To finalize the establishing of a single governance for RPC and UPC
• To review the process for maximizing efficiencies
• To continue the training in immigration

Occasional work-from-home project

The Quebec Region is currently struggling to recruit the employees needed for its regular operations. The number of recruits from the Rigaud Campus is unable to fill all BSO positions, which makes resourcing more difficult in some divisions, such as the TOD or the PCOD. In addition, the labour shortage facing the province makes it harder to hire employees for positions within our internal services. The public service's attractiveness is not as strong as it used to be.

• The labour market is changing quickly
• It's hard to retain labour
• Employees want terms of employment that foster work-life balance
• Telecommuting is increasingly part of the culture of multiple companies and many federal departments and provincial ministries

Therefore, the Quebec Region has decided to establish an occasional work-from-home pilot project with the objective being:

• To allow PCOD and TOD employees to work from home once a week

The negative risks that could result from this pilot project are:

• Abuse by some employees
• Decreased performance

However, we believe that the positive risks will be:

• Greater employee well-being
• Increased performance among some employees
• Retaining our employees

Therefore, the next step will be to evaluate how the pilot project goes in order to determine the potential of continuing the project and even increasing the number of work-at-home days that can be allocated.

E-commerce: pilot project in postal

The increased use of e-commerce in recent years is increasing the volume of parcels entering the postal and courier service. The CBSA must now ensure that it is able to collect the duties and taxes related to this type of importation, in order to maintain balance and fairness within the Canadian economy. The region also wishes to demonstrate that modernizing the postal operations is the optimal key to fulfilling the full extent of the CBSA's mandate.

• Since 2014, Revenu Québec has been submitting requests to HQ regarding the collecting of provincial taxes. In 2017, Revenu Québec put a lot of pressure on the region for us to increase the collecting of taxes on parcels arriving at the Léo-Blanchette MPP

The region therefore agreed to set up a pilot project at the Léo Blanchette MPP in partnership with Revenu Québec. In effect from October 2018 to October 2019;

• Only parcels with a value between CAD$20 and CAD$100 are referred for this pilot
• Revenu Québec clerks, a handler and a superintendent were assigned to this project
• A report containing the statistics is sent to Revenu Québec and the RDG every month

This pilot project identified the following negative risks:

• The project significantly complicates the primary sorting process for the BSOs, which reduces the flow in processing parcels;
• Revenu Québec's clerks have access to the lookouts when electronically scanning the bar code of parcels bearing the targeted addresses or names, which poses a security risk for protected information
• There is no control over the quality and accuracy of the entries ensuring that taxes are collected
• No BSOs are assigned to the pilot for examining the validity of exporters' declarations; only the primary reference is taken into account
• The Canada Post handling fee of CAD$9.95 is charged for every E14 that is affixed to the shipment, even if the tax collected is minimal (e.g. CAD$2)
• The targeted volumes are much lower than expected

Even so, the following positive risks were identified by this pilot project:

• Makes it possible to see that, even though we don't collect the taxes on all packages, there isn't necessarily a significant impact
• Strengthens the partnerships between Canada Post, the CBSA and Revenu Québec

The next step will be to assess whether the pilot project should continue beyond the target period.

Security portal project at [redacted]

Over the past few years, the region has identified a safety issue for EID staff working at the Montreal indoor office.

• Since 2016, there have been four major security incidents that disrupted the normal course of operations and raised many concerns regarding the staff's health and safety

Therefore, the region decided to introduce security measures such as setting up a security portal for screening individuals accessing the Enforcement and Intelligence Division (EID) premises at [redacted] in Montreal.

• The security screening measures were developed solely for the purpose of detecting prohibited items and not for searches and seizures pertaining to an arrest or criminal investigation
• To allow the members to use metal detectors on individuals requiring access to [redacted] and to check bags and cases for prohibited items

To ensure that this project runs smoothly, it will be necessary to:

• Ensure that all key players are in agreement and understand their roles and responsibilities
• Be sure to properly identify individuals exempt from the search
• Ensure that the members have completed the training to implement CBSA authorized security screening techniques

The positive impact of this project will be:

• Ensuring the health and safety of all employees and visitors in the office spaces

Therefore, the next steps are:

• To finalize the standard operating procedures
• To implement the project during 2019 to 2020
• To be able to use fixed metal detectors and obtain an X-ray machine for examining cases and bags
• To validate the project's relevance and introduce it in other regions across Canada

Projects

Highway pre-clearance

The Act respecting the preclearance of persons and goods in Canada and the United States (Bill C-23), which received Royal Assent in December 2017, implements the Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine and Air Transport Preclearance between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America. That bill, which will come into force soon, will allow, within the territory of each nation, pre-clearance of travellers and goods heading to the other nation.

[redacted]

Procurement planning and non-salary expenditures (O&M)

Human resources

The representation of the current resources in the Quebec Region is shown below by business line:

Travellers

Note: No planning for FB-02s because recruited from the OITP program.

Commercial

Enforcement

Planned staffing

Resource-planning is an exercise done on an ongoing basis in the Quebec Region. In order to properly identify the number of resources (FTEs) for each district and division, the region uses an Integrated Human Resources Plan (IHRP). This IHRP is updated in real time and works in concert with local management and human resources. This same IHRP makes it easy to identify resource gaps that are more crucial and therefore require analysis and identification of strategies to fill those gaps. Once again, this is a partnership  between human resources and senior management.

Various strategies are being put forward to staff positions that require resources. We always start with an analysis to identify the type of need (short or long term, determinate or indeterminate, is the need related to an initiative that will be temporary, etc.). In order to close some gaps, more accessible means are preferred, such as deployment, casual hiring, assignments, use of collective pools or others. When a staffing action is deemed necessary, cost centre managers conduct a real-time update of planned staffing actions in the SMS (salary management system). This approach makes it possible to follow with great rigour the staff movements and the budgetary impacts.

When the needs cannot be met by the types of transactions listed above, or when one or more districts-divisions have the same need in terms of FTEs (same group and level), the region will initiate a selection process. It's important to understand that this planning excludes all FB-02 hiring that is governed at the national level. However, in order to ensure an equitable distribution of recruits within the region, we developed an algorithm that enables us to assign recruits based on the needs of the different districts and divisions.

Since the Quebec Region in using IHRP as a tool to plan for needs to be met, it is therefore able to prepare a list of evaluation processes that must be launched during the year. It even prioritizes it and establishes the processes that must be prioritized according to each quarter of the fiscal year. This prioritization of processes is done in a thoughtful way among the district and division directors and the Assistant Director of Human Resources. The Agency ensures that these processes are completed, within the established time frames, by allocating the necessary PE and RC resources.

Therefore, the IHRP is a valuable tool for the Quebec Region because it provides a current picture of resources and identifies gaps.

As an example, here is the prioritization of the processes of the Quebec Region for the year 2019 to 2020.

Prioritization of selection processes: Quebec Region

The IHRP is a valuable tool for the Quebec Region and gives us a current snapshot of resources, makes it possible to identify gaps and, thus, prioritize the evaluation processes that must be done in the region.

Executive Summary

Resource profile

Mandate/Mission

By focusing on an integrated management of all operations associated with the traveller, commercial, intelligence and enforcement business lines, to ensure Canada's security and prosperity by managing access of people and goods entering or leaving Quebec.

The Quebec region's mission is to:

• contribute to the renewal initiatives of the Agency by supporting the transformation and modernization of our work methods and stimulating culture change
• collaborate in the implementation of the functional management model
• promote and support staff management as a key element and ensure that adequate processes and tools are in place
• encourage creativity and innovation to tailor our activities to our needs
• achieve better operational results and services by optimizing resources within budget allocations and leveraging technology and data

Risks, mitigation strategies and key milestones

Risk 1: Asylum claimants

Large increases in volumes of regular and irregular asylum claimants, which are difficult to predict, may limit our ability to meet desired processing times.

Risk exposure

Medium

Operational risks:

Mitigation strategies: Irregular asylum claimants

• Keep contingency plans up to date
• Standardize the operations of asylum claimants

Mitigation strategies: Regular asylum claimants

Finding solutions that would increase our efficiency

Risk 2: Hearings

Difficulty in reducing backlogs and processing files in a timely manner.

Risk exposure

High

Operational risks

• Files requiring interventions and hearings
• Insufficient capacity
• Subject to OAG follow-up

Mitigation strategies

• Recruitment (internal and external)
• Streamlining the number of departmental interventions
• Streamlining the triage process (under development)

Risk 3: Secondary examination at commercial level

Risk exposure

Low

Operational risks

• Potential health and safety issue
• Limited resources for in-depth inspection
• [redacted]

Mitigation strategies

• Assess the risk profile of these offices
• [redacted]
• [redacted]
• Provide operational capacity for commercial secondary examinations during replacement plans for these offices

Risk 4: Staffing

Inability to recruit the necessary human resources to ensure regional operations.

Risk exposure

High

Organizational risks

• Vacancies
• Instable structure
• Pressure
• Overtime

Mitigation strategies

• Continue to collaborate in order to improve training and recruit allocation strategies
• Consider external recruitment
• Foster more flexible working arrangements

Risk 5: CCTV

Camera systems no longer meet operational needs.

Risk exposure

Medium

Organizational risks

• Inability to replace or repair camera systems and/or non-functional components
• Operational risks
• Safety risks

Mitigation strategies

• Obtain adequate financing
• Facilitate the process of acquisition
• Adhere to replacement cycles

Risk 6: Instability of IT systems

Reduces operational capacity in the region.

Risk exposure

Medium

Organizational risks

[redacted]

• [redacted]
• the wait times
• the dissatisfaction of the travellers

Mitigation strategies

• Seek solutions in collaboration with HQ
• Apply contingency plans

Additional improvement activities

1. Electronic commerce: Mail pilot project
   

   Milestones and expected completion date (or any other key measures that are used to measure success in the delivery of your mandate and activities):

   • Increase of the e-commerce
   • Need to collect duties and taxes
   • Pilot project at the Léo-Blanchette MPC in partnership with Revenu Québec

   Next step: Evaluate the project

2. Revision of the governance structure of the Quebec region
   

   Milestones and expected completion date (or any other key measures that are used to measure success in the delivery of your mandate and activities):

   • Functional alignment of the region's operations with the 3 main axes
   • Support more adequately the standardization of irregular asylum claimants operations
   • Rebalance EX-01 and EX-02 positions

   Next steps: Approval and implementation

Projects

1. Preclearance in highway mode
   

   Milestones and expected completion date:

   • The law on preclearance of persons and goods in Canada and the United States (Bill C-23), and now allowing pre-control in areas of land, rail, marine and air transportation, will come into force shortly
2. [redacted]

Efficiency planning 1% to 2% savings

The Quebec region is committed to continuing efficiency efforts based on CBSA's renewal initiatives, including:

• applying management principles that are true to the 10 Operations Branch Management Commitments
• continuously reviewing our operational processes to look for opportunities to improve our efficiency
• exploring collaborative opportunities with other regions

Bids against FIMC reserve

Irregulars asylum claimants:

• Obtain budgets to cover additional costs related to irregular asylum claimants' operations
• The assessment of additional costs is carried out separately from the IBP exercice

Hearings:

Obtain additional funding to cover volume increase: $2,246,330

Referrals:

Obtain additional funding to meet target: $3,166,823

Date modified:

2019-12-04