Evidence of meeting #58 for Public Safety and National Security in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cbsa.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:55 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
That's correct.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
3:55 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Okay.
This is just as a matter of curiosity. In the initial presentation, you said it will improve enforcement measures based on the advance information provided, including new enforcement measures for failing to comply with “do not load” notifications issued by CBSA. Do we know now how often there's non-compliance with “do not load” orders from CBSA?
3:55 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
Thank you for that question.
You're talking about “do not load”. Are you flipping over to the cargo side now?
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
I think that's the reference you're using in this presentation. It's the cargo aspect, yes.
3:55 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
Okay.
What we want to do is strengthen our existing requirements for providing preload, advance information on the cargo side. Sharon was talking about the people side. Now we're going to talk about the cargo side, specifically in the marine mode.
We'd add a preload requirement in the air mode and strengthen existing enforcement measures as well. Currently we don't have that, so we'd like to add that. That's what it's doing right now. Currently we have it in marine. We don't currently have it in air, so we're getting that provision for air.
Again, what we want to do there is that before the cargo is even loaded, is in a foreign port somewhere, if we get intel or information that something is not right in that shipment, it would not be allowed to load on that vessel.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Great.
I'm sorry I'm flip-flopping back and forth, but when we go to the passenger name recognition and the advance passenger information, will it apply to people arriving in Canada by air, land, or sea?
3:55 p.m.
Manager, Travellers Unit, Advance Information and Programs, Canada Border Services Agency
Air mode only.
3:55 p.m.
Manager, Travellers Unit, Advance Information and Programs, Canada Border Services Agency
“Air mode” only.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Okay. Great.
You mention on page 4 of the document that the amendment concerning API and the PNR is expected to result in cost savings.
Is there any kind of projection for these savings, or is it just that generally you think there will be a cost savings?
3:55 p.m.
Manager, Travellers Unit, Advance Information and Programs, Canada Border Services Agency
I would prefer not to comment on something that may happen in the future.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
That's fair enough. Thank you.
Are there any other enforcement activities or strategies—and here I'm thinking maybe of the future, when you're talking about legal challenges and obligations for owner-operators of bridges and toll services—where expected pre-screening or any other means of dealing with passengers ahead of time will help the flow of traffic through the ports of entry?
This may be future thinking...more than this current bill, but if you have owners and operators talking about having free access by CBSA, I'm sure they're more than amiable to having free access...CBSA if the flow is moving well, because of course that enhances profit for them on the toll system.
Is there anything CBSA is looking at in terms of advance strategies to deal with our clients coming through those points of entry?
3:55 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
Thank you for the question.
Currently we have in place the trusted traveller program—the NEXUS lanes that you see, which expedite the low-risk travellers. They're pre-risked; they're trusted. They have that special lane that they can go through. This decongests the regular lanes of traffic for the regular travellers.
On the commercial side we have the equivalent, called the FAST lanes, for commercial cargo that has been pre-cleared and has been basically designated to go through that lane as well.
Are there future plans? Part of the Beyond the Border initiative absolutely has requirements for expansion of NEXUS lanes and FAST lanes. It's in part of the plan, so it's in progress as we speak.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Then these amendments to this bill in the air mode component really are complementary to a greater picture of CBSA strategies to move people in and out of our country more efficiently, more effectively, and safely for Canada. Would that be an accurate characterization?
4 p.m.
Director General, Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency
I would say it's very accurate. We would like to focus on our high-risk goods and take the attention away from the free flow of low-risk goods and people coming into the country.
4 p.m.
Conservative
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kevin Sorenson
There's another minute, if somebody has a quick question.
Mr. Dechert, please.
4 p.m.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your presentation today.
I travelled recently to the United States. There was a situation in which the airline I was travelling on lost all the passenger information—it had a computer problem—and so the information had to be re-entered.
That raised a question in my mind. Is what we're proposing here today the same kind of process as the one the Americans use in pre-screening passengers who are inbound to the United States, or is it something different?
4 p.m.
Manager, Travellers Unit, Advance Information and Programs, Canada Border Services Agency
It is very similar to what the Americans do. The Americans receive the information pre-arrival. They're actually up to 96 hours pre-travel, whereas today we remain at time of departure. We're looking to align ourselves with them.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kevin Sorenson
Thank you very much.
We'll move to Mr. Scarpaleggia, please, for seven minutes.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Just to follow up on Mr. Dechert's point, what is the distinction between the data set he was talking about and what we're talking about?
4 p.m.
Manager, Travellers Unit, Advance Information and Programs, Canada Border Services Agency
It's advance passenger information. I don't know whether he was referring to passenger manifests, but....
4 p.m.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Okay.
I'm just trying to understand this a little more clearly. Right now, let's say you board a plane coming from overseas.
Well, first of all, why does this only apply to passengers coming by air travel? Is it because, if they're coming by train, necessarily they have been screened in the U.S. somewhere? I don't understand why it's only for air travel.
If you're coming in by train, I guess you're already in the U.S., you're coming to Canada from the U.S., so you've been screened at some level. You figure that's a very low risk, is that correct? Yes.
If you were coming in by car at the border, again, they would do the check right away, I suppose. Is that it? At the border, they'd take your name and they'd input it right away?
And by ship, is there a need to pre-screen by ship? I know there isn't a lot of ship travel to Canada. Or maybe there is, but...I don't think there is.