Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
As the committee is aware, the agency's mandate is complex and dynamic. In managing the border, we administer and enforce over 90 acts and regulations on behalf of other federal government departments and the provinces and territories.
With respect to this study, on the feasibility of allowing Canadians to bring their legally owned and U.S.-registered and -plated passenger vehicles into Canada for a defined temporary period without having to pay any taxes, duties or importation fees, the CBSA can only speak to its enforcement of the legislation as it applies to the border. The CBSA first derives its authorities to examine, detain and/or refuse entry to any good or conveyance, in this case a vehicle, under the Customs Act, one of the agency's primary pieces of legislation. When a Canadian resident is seeking to return to Canada with their U.S.-plated passenger vehicle and they approach a land border or port of entry, a border service officer must consider a number of acts and regulations before the vehicle may be admitted to the country.
First, vehicles imported into Canada must meet the requirements set by Transport Canada under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The CBSA assists Transport Canada by ensuring that these vehicles can be imported, and will prohibit the entry of inadmissible vehicles. Second, with its broad food, plant and animal authorities, the CBSA will inspect motor vehicles entering Canada to ensure that they are clean and free of pests, soil or other organic material. Vehicles found to be contaminated are refused entry and ordered removed from Canada under the authorities of the Plant Protection Act and the Health of Animals Act, as well as their associated regulations. Third, on behalf of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the CBSA may, on ECCC request, detain shipments suspected of non-compliance pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
Finally, on behalf of the Department of Finance, the CBSA must ensure that residents of Canada operating vehicles for which duties and taxes have not been paid are in compliance with the strict conditions set out in customs tariff item no. 9802 and the regulations respecting temporary importation of conveyances by residents of Canada. Vehicles imported temporarily will be on a duty- and tax-free basis so long as the conditions under the regulations are respected. For those vehicles that are admissible to Canada and that will be imported on a permanent basis, the CBSA must then assess the duty, excise tax and goods and services tax owed to the Crown.
lt should be noted that in situations of emergency or unforeseen circumstances, Canadian residents may be permitted, under these regulations, to temporarily import non-compliant vehicles. Currently, the processing of foreign registered vehicles is paper-based, and the CBSA does not track statistics or data related specifically to the subset of the population the committee is examining.
I hope I have clarified the CBSA's border enforcement role with respect to the temporary importation of vehicles by Canadian residents. I would be happy to take any questions the committee may have.
Thank you.