Overview of the Canada Border Services Agency

1. Overview of the Canada Border Services Agency Transportation Border Working Group Quebec City, Quebec October 27-28, 2010

2. Outline • Who We Are • What We Do • CBSA Partnership with the United States • Joint Canada/US Traveller & Trade Facilitation Programs • Joint Canada/US Enforcement Programs • CBSA-CBP Cooperative Border Management Framework • Contacts

3. CBSAWho We Are • Border Integrity: We work offshore, at the perimeter, in-land and at the land border; we pursue a perimeter approach to border security which seeks to push the border out and to keep security threats as far from the North American perimeter and as close to their point of origin as possible; • Risk Management: Impossible to stop and check every individual and shipment (13 million commercial shipments and 97 million travelers per year); Intelligence is a major driver of the organization: influences risk and where we put our people; • Service Orientation: Streamlining administration, simplifying business interaction; expanding benefits of trusted shipper, trader and traveler programs • Partnerships: Cooperation with other government departments and international allies; mutual recognition of screening programs

4. CBSAWhat We Do CBSA administers more than 90 acts, regulations and international agreements, many on behalf of other federal departments and agencies, the provinces and the territories. The CBSA: • Administers legislation that governs the admissibility of people, goods, plants and animals into and out of Canada. • Prevents improperly documented people from coming to Canada and removes inadmissible persons who have been issued a removal order. Our priority is persons who pose a threat to national security and persons who are involved in organized crime and crimes against humanity, and criminals. • Interdicts illegal goods so that they do not enter the country. • Protects food safety and the environment by stopping prohibited and hazardous products. • Promotes Canadian business and economic benefits by administering trade legislation and trade agreements. • Promotes Canadian interests among various international organizations. • Collects applicable duties and taxes on imported goods.

5. CBSA’s partnership with the United States • Due to our shared border, the United States is Canada’s most important strategic partner. • Since the wake of U.S. terrorist attacks in September 2001, Canadian and U.S. government departments and agencies have worked in partnership to improve security and services on the shared border through the Smart Border Declaration. • A collaborative 32-point Action Plan for identifying and addressing security risks while expediting the legitimate flow of people and goods across our border was created as a blueprint for the Declaration. • The four pillars of the Action Plan are as follows: • Secure flow of people • Secure flow of goods • Secure infrastructure • Coordination and information-sharing

6. Joint Canada/US Traveller & Trade Facilitation Programs NEXUS - trusted traveller program for low risk pre-screened travellers between Canada and the United States. • NEXUS is a joint Canada-U.S. program designed to simplify border crossings for pre-approved, low-risk travellers. • NEXUS operates in the air, land, and marine modes, with travellers having access to the program in all modes with a single membership. • The NEXUS card is approved as an alternative to the passport for the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative’s (WHTI) air rules. • NEXUS Air uses iris-recognition biometric technology to verify an individual’s identity and confirm admissibility. • This is key to our operations, because it enables us to focus our resources strategically on people and goods of higher and unknown risk. FAST - Free and Secure Trade • FAST is a joint Canada–U.S. initiative that supports moving pre-approved, eligible goods across the border quickly and verifying trade compliance away from the border through an audit program. • FAST is a commercial process offered to pre-approved importers, carriers, and registered drivers.

7. Joint Canada/US Enforcement Programs Integrated Border Enforcement Teams are a critical component of maintaining the integrity and security of our borders • IBETs enhance border integrity and security along the shared Canada/U.S. border and between designated ports of entry • The Integrated Border Enforcement Team Program is comprised of both Canadian and American law enforcement agencies (RCMP, CBSA, US-CBP, US-ICE and US Coast Guard)

8. Joint Canada/US Enforcement Programs cont’d MOU on Cross Border Currency Seizure Information Sharing • The Canada Border Services Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will soon enter into a Memorandum of Understanding that will help to identify potential threats and assist in money-laundering and terrorist-financing investigations and prosecutions. Joint Border Threat and Risk Assessment • The Joint Border Threat and Risk Assessment highlights areas of concern along the U.S.-Canada border where there is the potential of terrorism and transnational organized crime. • The assessment, which will be released later this year, jointly addresses drug trafficking and illegal immigration, the illicit movement of prohibited or controlled goods, agricultural hazards, and the spread of infectious disease. High-Risk Traveller Identification Initiative • The High-Risk Traveller Identification (HRTI) initiative stems from the Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record (API/PNR) program and provides Canada and the United States with a clear framework for sharing API/PNR information between both countries. Canada has API/PNR in Air Mode and the United States has API/PNR in Air and Marine Mode, as well as buses.

9. CBSA-CBP Framework for Cooperative Border Management • The CBSA and US CBP are working closely to continue integration of our shared border management, work collectively to improve continental security and enhance the mobility of people and goods moving both ways across the border. • There are three thematic areas which both agencies are coordinating their efforts, these include: Information Sharing, Policy/Program Harmonization, and Infrastructure Coordination/Cooperation. • Under the theme of Infrastructure Coordination/Cooperation, the CBSA and CBP are collectively working to improve resource allocations on both sides of the border through joint metrics. An example of this work includes the initiative to align operational plans at top ports of entry (POEs) as they relate to border wait times (BWT). • Through our collective work on Policy/Program Harmonization and targeted investments in border infrastructure, we can make significant steps to accelerate border passage for frequent low-risk travelers and traders, meaning reduced wait times, a reduction in border congestion and improved overall border management.

10. CBSA Contacts Kym Martin Director, Horizontal Border Policies, Border Programs Programs Branch Canada Border Services Agency 7th Floor-7006, 150 Isabella Ottawa, ON K1A 0L8 CANADA (613) 954-7620 Kym.Martin@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca