Madam Speaker, I rise in response to the question put to the House by my hon. colleague, the member for Kootenay--Columbia, regarding his assertion that the government has neglected border security.
I would first like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Adam Angel, the Canada customs officer who died while on duty.
As my hon. colleague knows, the Canada Border Services Agency was established to consolidate customs, immigration, food inspection and border security functions. This agency relies on existing programs to speed up the flow of legitimate traffic across the border and to improve security so that persons and cargo posing a threat to our country are intercepted.
Since its creation, the safety and security of Canadians has never been compromised. Neither has the safety and security of employees of the Canada Border Services Agency. The health and safety of our employees is among the CBSA's highest priorities.
Far from ignoring our border agency, we have invested billions of dollars in the security of this country, much of which has been dedicated to our borders, be they land borders, sea ports or airports, to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.
As well as ensuring the safety of the Canadian public, the Canada Border Services Agency is taking measures to ensure the safety of its employees. Customs inspectors are equipped with tools to improve their health and safety while performing their duties. They also receive comprehensive training, which is repeated throughout their careers, to support the use of their equipment.
Management is taking extra measures to double-check equipment and support systems to ensure that customs inspectors have the required support when they need it. To resolve certain employee health and safety complaints from customs inspectors, the former Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, the CCRA, Human Resources Development Canada, Labour Canada and the Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise agreed that the Canada Revenue Agency would hire an independent consultant to conduct a job hazard analysis.
As part of this agreement, the CRA agreed to proceed with implementation of the job hazard analysis recommendations. Today the CBSA continues to implement the recommendations from the job hazard analysis and discussions with the union regarding the findings and recommendations. In addition, the CBSA is also working with Treasury Board to address the associated resource implications.
In summary, the government is serious about and committed to protecting the public at the border and it will take the necessary steps to do so.