Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, honourable members. My colleague and I are pleased to be here today. My name is Geoff Leckey and I am the director general of the enforcement and intelligence operations directorate in the operations branch of the Canada Border Services Agency.
I have with me today Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère, who is the executive director of the risk management and foresight division in the programs branch.
As part of the public safety portfolio, the CBSA is responsible for ensuring Canada's security and prosperity by managing the access of people and goods coming to and departing from Canada.
Though the agency's involvement in Bill S-7 is minimal, our day-to-day operations support the government's counterterrorism objectives. Today, I will focus my comments on the role that border management plays in the national security continuum.
Since its creation, the CBSA has been an integral component of Canada's national security policy by ensuring effective border management. To this end, the agency maintains close and productive relationships with its portfolio and other law enforcement partners at home and abroad.
Managing the border in today's complex world calls on our people to use a variety of skills and technology efficiently and effectively behind the scenes and when dealing directly with traders and travellers.
As you may know, the agency is responsible for enforcing the Customs Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and over 90 other acts of Parliament, including the Anti-terrorism Act. To deliver effectively in these responsibilities, the CBSA recently opened a new state-of-the-art training facility in Rigaud, Quebec, to train border services officers in interviewing, examination, and investigative techniques. The college is key to our ability to perform our duties in providing excellence in border services.
As I stated earlier, the agency's role in this legislation, Bill S-7, is minimal, but we are supportive because the justice system and the law enforcement community need improved tools to interdict those individuals within Canada who engage in terrorist activity.
The CBSA plays a key role in Canada's counterterrorism strategy as a border security agency. While the agency is not directly mandated to investigate, identify, arrest or prosecute terrorists specifically, it does perform two essential security activities: denying terrorists entry into Canada and collecting and reporting on counterterrorism targets.
To achieve these outcomes, the CBSA collaborates on immigration security screening and admissibility screening of known or suspected terrorists with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. It also employs intelligence-based targeting to assist in counter-terrorism and strategic export controls of commercial shipments. The CBSA liaison officer network works to prevent inadmissible persons from coming to Canada. Border services officers also enforce export controls on goods and currency.
In addition, BSOs have participated in extensive program development and training and the use of detection technology so that they can conduct effective, non-intrusive examinations where possible. For example, the agency uses digital fingerprint machines to capture fingerprints, which are then sent electronically to the RCMP central registry for verification. Faster and more efficient front-end security checks ensure that those who may be criminally inadmissible to Canada are not permitted to enter.
Agency officials regularly work with immigration organizations overseas to identify emerging trends in irregular migration and document fraud. They also participate in joint activities designed to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
The CBSA processes a staggering number of travellers and goods entering Canada each year. In the last year, the CBSA processed 93 million travellers, 29 million vehicles, and released 13 million commercial shipments. In order to balance the joint mandates of facilitation and national security, the CBSA applies a layered risk management approach to its intelligence and enforcement activities. The agency works with its key partners such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the RCMP, CSIS, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection so that it can effectively focus its efforts on areas of high or unknown risk.
As you can see, partnerships are key to the CBSA's effectiveness in border management and national security. The CBSA is a critical law enforcement partner because of its ability to turn the information it collects into intelligence about possible national security threats, including terrorism. The CBSA shares this information with its key domestic partners such as the RCMP and CSIS.
The CBSA also partners with international customs and immigration organizations to implement the terms of international agreements. The Beyond the Border action plan with the United States is a prime example of such a partnership. It assists the CBSA and its U.S. counterparts in ensuring that the border remains open to secure trade and travel but is closed to crime and terrorism.
Mr. Chair, while our role under this proposed legislation is minimal, the agency's mandate continues to be the first line of defence to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.
This concludes my opening statement.
Mr. Aubertin-Giguère and I would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have.
