Mr. Chairman, container examination has changed over the past few years. Four years ago, the approach we took was quite individual. The number or proportion of containers that we were able to examine had not changed very much for many years. What did change, however, was the capacity to select those containers that we wanted to examine more closely. This is now a two-level examination. For the first level, the examination is conducted with the assistance of VACIS equipment which scans 3 to 4% of all containers per year. For the second level, which is a more in-depth examination, we open and empty the container. This procedure is very costly, not only for our organization but also for the importers, who have to pay for a good portion of the expenses.
The system that we implemented, which enables us to decide in advance whether a container can be loaded onto a boat or not, gives rise to two concerns. First of all, there is a significant terrorist risk and there is a need to obtain information from the importers. We also have to involve the people who are responsible for transporting the merchandise. Occasionally, because of this system, containers are not loaded onto the boats when we have not been able to obtain all of the required information.
And now for your question. In most instances, this information is available before the container arrives. Once the container has arrived, certain information may still be missing, information which should really be verified. But such information is not necessarily missing for all containers. Indeed, as I mentioned, we really have to manage our risks. So each decision made locally deals with containers that we want to take a closer look at. A good proportion of these containers should be examined, but not necessarily just those ones.