Thank you for the question.
It felt like there were two parts to it, so I hope I get this right.
Generally speaking, when it comes to port security and the background checks that are required for all people working at the port, that is the responsibility of Transport Canada. Transport Canada has a marine security program that requires not all, but probably most, port staff—it's for them to say—to have some kind of background check that's similar to what they do at airports.
I apologize, but I don't have readily at hand how many people we have working at the port on any given day.
Our border services officers go through a very rigorous selection process, much like our law enforcement partners do, in terms of assessing character and doing background checks. Then they go to our college at Rigaud, where they spend time getting trained professionally on the Customs Act, the Criminal Code and techniques for searching, based on what they'll do coming out of the college. They may end up at port of entry—a land port of entry for example—where they'll be dealing primarily with travellers or they'll come to a place like the Port of Montreal, where they'll be working primarily on searching imports. The same techniques apply in terms of searching export containers.
Again, it's always intelligence-driven. We have professional intelligence analysts who work very closely with other intelligence agencies, including police of jurisdiction, to generate intelligence that can tell us which containers to target.
We also have a professional standards division that looks at instances of corruption or inappropriate behaviour by our staff. There are mechanisms to report that and for investigations to take place.
My personal view is that our officials who are conducting the searches and targeting the containers are the last line of defence and they are doing their very best. I think they're doing a very good job.
I'm not concerned. There may be some bad eggs there, but by and large I think the vast majority of BSOs working are doing a great job with a lot of integrity.