Questions and responses 44th Parliament, 1st session November 22, 2021, to January 6, 2025

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency, broken down by worksite and fiscal quarter since 2018-19 to present: (a) broken down by occupational category, what is the total number of (i) employees, (ii) full-time equivalent employees, (iii) employment vacancies, (iv) casual employees; and (b) what ratios or algorithms are used to plan staffing levels at each worksite?

With regard to the need for more Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers in Canada: (a) does the government have plans to increase the number of border officers across Canada, and, if so, by how many officers in this next fiscal year and any further years after that; (b) does the government have plans to build a second training facility to train more border officers, and, if so, where does it plan to build the facility; and (c) does the government have plans to expand the role of border officers by reviewing the 1932 Order-in-Council to allow CBSA officers to perform the full extent of their functions between ports of entry?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), broken down by worksite and fiscal quarter since 2018-19 to present: (a) what is the total number of temporary help agency employees or private contract workers for each occupational category; (b) what is the total number of workers employed by CBSA who are (i) former public sector employees, (ii) retired CBSA employees; and (c) for each worker in (a), what is the total number of workers hired on contracts lasting (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) longer than 18 months?

With regard to counterfeit goods discovered and seized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), since January 1, 2020, and broken down by year: (a) what is the value of the goods discovered, in total, and broken down by year and by month; (b) for each seizure, what was the (i) date, (ii) quantity, (iii) estimated value, (iv) location or port of entry where the goods were discovered, (v) product description, (vi) country of origin; and (c) what is the estimated percentage of counterfeit goods which are intercepted by the CBSA versus those which are smuggled into Canada without being intercepted?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency: what is the spending by governmental and non-governmental organizations on settlement services for people (immigrants, refugees, asylum claimants and other individuals) who have entered Canada at official and irregular border crossings, broken down by the (i) organization, (ii) fiscal year, since 2015-16, (iii) projected spending for the 2023-24 fiscal year, (iv) province and territory, (v) program spending?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and students hired through the Federal Student Work Experience Program, broken down by worksite and fiscal quarter since 2018-19 to present: (a) what is the total number of students hired; (b) for students hired in (a), how many students were hired in each occupational category or role; (c) how many students have since become CBSA employees; and (d) for each student hired in (c), what is their (i) job classification, (ii) length of term?

With regard to contract work performed for the Canadian Border Services Agency, since November 2015, and broken down by fiscal year: (a) what is the total number of contracts awarded to (i) GCStrategies, (ii) Dalian Enterprises Inc., (iii) Coradix Technology Consulting, (iv) Moravej Inc., (v) 10583308 Canada Inc.; (b) what are the details of all contracts in (a), including the (i) date the contract was awarded, (ii) value of the contract, (iii) number of amendments to the initial contract; and (c) what is the total number of government employees who reviewed, processed and approved each contract in (a)?

With regard to the amendments to valuation regulations published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on May 27, 2023, which will increase duties on imported products into Canada : (a) will the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) publish revised regulations, and, if so, (i) when does the CBSA expect to publish such regulations, (ii) will those regulations undergo further consultations or will they be published as final; (b) did the CBSA estimate the cost to Canadian consumers of their proposed regulations, and, if so, what is the estimated cost; (c) has the CBSA estimated the reduction in competition in the Canadian market of their proposed regulations, and, if so, what is the estimated reduction; (d) has the CBSA estimated the administrative cost to Canadian companies due to this proposed regulatory burden, and, if so, what is the estimated cost; and (e) has the CBSA estimated the increase in revenue from the implementation of these regulations, and, if so, what is the estimated increase?

With regard to complaints related to searches of electronic devices received by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), broken down by year since 2016: (a) how many searches involving the viewing of contents on individuals' electronic devices has the CBSA conducted (i) in total, (ii) broken down by point of entry; (b) how many complaints were received related to the searches (i) in total, (ii) broken down by point of entry; and (c) what are the statistics related to how the complaints were received, including how many complaints were deemed to be legitimate and what action was taken to address the complaints?

With regard to border crossings (land, bridge and tunnel) between Canada and the United States and the operations and facilities of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): (a) what is the cost of overall operations of the CBSA at each border crossing location; (b) what are the operating and maintenance costs for buildings and facilities used by the CBSA at each border crossing; (c) how is the cost to (i) operate CBSA services, (ii) maintain buildings that are used by the CBSA, at each border crossing location paid for and by whom; (d) are there any agreements or other mechanisms where (i) border crossings provide financial support or services free of charge to CBSA or other government entities, (ii) CBSA or other government entities provide financial support or services free of charge to the border crossing, including buildings and facilities, and, if so, what are the details of each instance; and (e) for the new Gordie Howe Bridge crossing, how are the services and buildings and facilities maintenance for the CBSA going to be paid for and by what mechanism, since it is the only public-private partnership border crossing owned by the federal government?

With regard to members of the Border Services (FB) group who work at the Canada Border Services Agency and the commitment made by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2021 round of bargaining to resubmit the Border Services (FB) group’s proposal to introduce legislative amendments providing enhanced early retirement benefits under the public service pension plan, to facilitate an expedited opportunity to bring forward its related business case to the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee (PSPAC), and to facilitate a streamlined process to have these issues reviewed and ensure that related recommendations are brought forward in a timely manner: (a) who has the government consulted with through this process, including, but not limited to, members of the Border Services (FB) group, through their bargaining agent; (b) what information, advice, and recommendations have the (i) PSPAC, (ii) Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), (iii) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), presented to the Treasury Board; (c) what information, statements, advice, and recommendations has the Treasury Board presented to the (i) PSPAC, (ii) PSAC, (iii) PSPIB; (d) what is the timeline to implement the promised changes; and (e) what steps still need to be taken to ensure these changes take place?

With regard to the hiring and training of border services officers for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) across Canada: (a) how many new CBSA officers were hired and trained in Canada since 2012; and (b) how many are projected to be hired in the next five years with the construction of the new Gordie Howe Bridge?

With regard to the seizure of drugs by the Canada Border Services Agency since 2018, broken down by quarter and by type of drug: (a) what is the quantity of drugs that were seized; (b) how many shipments were seized; (c) what is the estimated street value of the drugs that were seized; (d) what is the breakdown of (a) through (c) by country of origin, or suspected country of origin; and (e) what is the government doing to prevent the future attempted importation of drugs from the countries with significant amounts referenced in (d)?

With regard to the removal of persons by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), since January 1, 2016: (a) how many persons subject to removal have departed or been removed from Canada, broken down by year; (b) what is the number of "high priority foreign nationals" subject to removal orders on grounds of serious inadmissibility, broken down by year and relevant Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) section on inadmissibility; (c) of the number in (b), how many were actually removed from Canada, broken down by year and relevant IRPA section on inadmissibility; (d) how many persons who are subject to removal orders on the grounds of serious inadmissibility have not yet been removed, broken down by (i) year, (ii) reason for non-removal, (iii) relevant IRPA section on inadmissibility; and (e) regarding the number in (d), how does the CBSA plan to find and remove these persons from Canada?

With regard to the planned budgetary reductions for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): (a) is IRCC moving forward with a Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) in 2024, and, if so, what is the targeted budget reduction for the department in percentage and actual dollars, broken down by (i) IRCC region, (ii) province and territory; (b) what specific programs or services within IRCC are projected to experience reductions in funding as part of the DRAP in 2024–25, 2025–26, and 2026–27, broken down by (i) IRCC region, (ii) province and territory, (iii) Full-Time Employee (FTE) reduction; (c) how will the anticipated DRAP affect processing times for applicants, broken down by each immigration stream, including the processing of study permits, work visas and travel visas; (d) what measures will IRCC implement to ensure the DRAP does not adversely impact service delivery standards for applicants and stakeholders, including settlement organizations; (e) what workforce adjustments or layoffs, if any, are planned within IRCC to accommodate the DRAP, and what impacts are anticipated on staffing levels or FTEs and employee workloads, broken down by IRCC region; (f) how does IRCC plan to engage with and communicate these changes to key stakeholders, including provinces, territories, settlement agencies, and impacted applicants; (g) how much funding has been refocused away from the CBSA and IRCC in the government’s refocused spending initiative, broken down by year in (i) border security and enforcement, (ii) customs and trade facilitation, (iii) traveller screening, (iv) citizenship and passport services, (v) refugee resettlement; and (h) what is funding that has been refocused away from the CBSA and IRCC in the government’s refocused spending initiative being redirected toward, broken down by year?

With regard to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers serving the United States—Canada land border: (a) does the government consider the CBSA officers protecting the land border to be public safety officers; (b) what is the number of CBSA officers who have worked at CBSA for (i) under five years, (ii) five to 10 years, (iii) 10 to 15 years, (iv) 15 to 20 years, (v) 20 to 25 years, (vi) more than 25 years; and (c) how many CBSA officers are currently on (i) long-term leave, (ii) administrative leave, (iii) short-term leave, for health and safety reasons?

With regard to the Canada Border Services Agency's removal inventories: (a) how many cases are currently in each of the following inventories, broken down by inventory type, including (i) monitoring inventory, (ii) stay inventory, (iii) wanted inventory, (iv) working inventory; (b) broken down by each inventory type, how many cases were (i) added, (ii) resolved or removed, during the last calendar year; (c) what is the average time a case remains in inventory, broken down by type of inventory; (d) how many cases in (a) involve individuals with enforceable removal orders, broken down by (i) inventory type (ii) country of origin; and (e) what measures are currently in place to address any impediments to timely removals for cases in each inventory?

With regard to the monitoring and enforcement of removal orders by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): (a) how many foreign nationals have been removed from Canada in each calendar year since 2015; (b) how many foreign nationals are currently being monitored by the CBSA, broken down by (i) monitoring inventory, (ii) wanted inventory, (iii) stay inventory, (iv) working inventory; (c) of the foreign nationals listed in the monitoring inventory, how many are (i) awaiting refugee determination decisions, (ii) pending permanent resident status, (iii) subject to an unenforceable removal order; (d) of the foreign nationals listed in the stay inventory, how many have received a stay of removal due to (i) an administrative deferral of removal, (ii) a temporary suspension of removal, (iii) a submission of a pre-removal risk assessment, (iv) ongoing litigation at the Federal Court; (e) with respect to the working inventory, how many cases are currently in this category, broken down by the (i) nature of impediments to removal, (ii) country of origin of the individuals, (iii) average and median length of time cases remain in this category; and (f) what specific actions has the CBSA undertaken to resolve the impediments to removal for cases in the working inventory, and what are the most common unresolved challenges?

With regard to the seizure of drugs by the Canada Border Services Agency since January 1, 2022, broken down by month and by type of drug: (a) what is the quantity of drugs that was seized; (b) how many shipments were seized; and (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by country of origin, or suspected country of origin?

With regard to asylum claims received by the government, in total and broken down by province or territory where the claims were made: since 2012, what is the number of asylum claims processed each year by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency?