Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I am Aaron McCrorie, the vice-president of CBSA's intelligence and enforcement branch. I am joined by my colleague Jennifer Lutfallah, the vice-president of our commercial and trade branch. I welcome this opportunity to share with committee members insights on border management between Canada and the United States.
The Canada Border Services Agency is the country's first line of defence at 1,200 ports of entry. I am proud of our employees' conscientious work and dedication as well as their ability to adapt and respond to constantly evolving threats.
The agency has about 8,500 frontline employees, supported by intelligence and targeting teams that stay current on global trends, patterns and means of concealment, to ensure that we are well equipped to identify and prevent contraband, firearms and bad actors from entering Canada. The CBSA also employs criminal investigators, who investigate individuals and businesses that commit serious offences against Canada's border and border legislation. Abroad, the agency employs officers at 42 missions in 36 countries, who help push our border out.
Fighting transnational organized crime takes collaboration and multi-jurisdictional co-operation, and it would be unrealistic to think that any one agency, or even one country, could completely thwart their efforts. That is why collaboration and working in lockstep with the RCMP, as well as other domestic and international law enforcement partners, are essential to strengthen public safety and protect the integrity of our border.
By ensuring timely, effective intelligence sharing and cross-border co-operation, Canada and the United States can better track, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.
The CBSA and the U.S. CBP have a long-standing and effective working relationship, which continues to this day. For example, we each have officers embedded in our respective targeting centres, and we always share intelligence. The agency regularly meets and collaborates with the U.S. CBP to discuss our countries' ongoing collaboration efforts, strong commitment to border security and strategic alignment going forward.
The Government of Canada recognizes that we have a strong border, but we can make it stronger.
Canada's border plan invests over $355 million to help the CBSA bolster its front line and get the latest tools and technology to stop drugs and firearms. So far, as part of this investment, the agency has more new officers being trained at the CBSA College, who will be deployed to ports of entry by the end of 2025, increasing the agency's examination capacity, with more officers to be hired over a six-year period.
The CBSA has created special investigation and examination for greater enforcement capacity. This included Operation Blizzard, a month-long cross-country operation to intercept fentanyl and other illegal drugs at the border, resulting in over 2,600 seizures of narcotics and precursors. The agency will continue to allocate funding for these targeted operations in the weeks and months ahead.
The CBSA has spent over $6 million for large-scale imaging or X-ray systems and committed another $31 million for a range of other equipment. The CBSA is also in the process of procuring new detection technology tools that will enhance our ability to detect and identify illegal synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals at the border. These investments include imaging and trace detection tools, regional satellite laboratories and hand-held chemical analyzers, with an additional $24 million of equipment planned for delivery in 2026, and more in the following years.
In terms of removals, from April 1 to September 15 this year the CBSA removed 10,585 inadmissible people. The border plan provided funding for the CBSA to increase the rate at which it removes inadmissible people from Canada.
To reach this target, CBSA has hired approximately 30 additional frontline personnel.
The agency is taking steps toward meeting its commitment to completing 20,000 removals by March 31, 2026, and maintaining that cadence the following fiscal year.
In collaboration with our partners, we are committed to keep working to strengthen our border security.
Jennifer and I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you.