The federal budget unveiled by the government this week includes measures to strengthen border security and modernize screening of cross-border travellers, but details on the latter so far are slim.
The new spending proposals will complement the $1.3-billion border security plan announced last December, of which $81 million has been allocated for spending by the end of the current fiscal year, the government says.
The budget proposes $14.8 million over the next four years to Transport Canada “to develop and implement a new preclearance access regime, ensuring a more secure transportation system for all Canadians.”
The document says the funding will also go toward “digital solutions to maximize efficiency in security screening activities,” particularly for transportation facility employees.
The government says the preclearance system will “complement” the new preclearance facility at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport, which allows travellers to clear U.S. customs and immigration inspection prior to boarding a flight to the United States. The federal government contributed $30 million toward the facility, which is expected to open before the end of this year.
The budget also says the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) will “reduce its day-to-day expenses by minimizing spending on professional services, leveraging technology to automate certain processes and functions, and modernising its organizational structure.”
“This will include deploying automated systems to detect prohibited items at pre-board screening checkpoints and enhance screening efficiency,” the budget stated, while promising “no impact on the security of travellers.”‘
It also says CATSA’s modernization efforts to “improve efficiencies” include “alignment with recent changes implemented by the United States.”
The government did not say if the proposals are a response to, or meant to compliment, enhanced biometric screening measures in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said last month it would move ahead with rules that will require all travellers entering and exiting the country at all ports of entry to have their photograph taken for facial comparison purposes starting in late December. Many foreign travellers, excluding Canadians and other exempt nationalities, will also be subjected to fingerprint scans.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) only provides voluntary biometric screening for travellers arriving at 10 international airports, and said before the budget was released that it does not “currently” have plans to expand that system.
“We do not currently have plans to implement a biometric system to verify travellers exiting Canada, however we regularly assess and review our systems and procedures to respond to evolving needs and ensure the safety and security of our country,” a spokesperson told Global News last week.
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The agency followed up with Global News on Wednesday to confirm that biometric data collected by the U.S. would not automatically be shared with the CBSA.
“While we would receive automated information regarding a Canadian who enters into the U.S., it would not include the picture by default,” the CBSA spokesperson said.
The CBSA said receiving that biometric data would require legislative amendments and updating the 2019 data-sharing agreement between Canada and the U.S., which only covers the biographical data of travellers entering either country.
Global News has asked Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s office if he intends to make those amendments.
The budget includes the commitment first announced last month of $617.7 million over five years to increase the CBSA’s “capacity to detect and intercept illicit goods” and enforce cross-border trade measures.
The funding will help the agency hire 1,000 new CBSA officers to do that work, according to the budget.
The new funding will also allow the government to increase the CBSA’s recruit stipend from $125 to $525 per week, and expand benefits for CBSA officers and other front-line staff — including the option to retire after 25 years of service regardless of age, without pension reductions.
The benefits expansion alone will cost $216.8 million over five years, the budget says.
In an “initial reaction” statement Tuesday, the Customs and Immigration Union said the hiring of more officers, improving detection and interception capacity, and benefits expansion are “undoubtedly positive.”
It called the “25 and out” retirement provision “a monumental step forward for our union and our members.”
However, it added the language on the new preclearance system and achieving “operating efficiencies” in particular “raise concerns.”
“How these measures affect our members will depend on their implementation,” the union said, adding it will take time to review the budget before commenting further.
“The devil, as they say, is in the details.”
Opposition parties have not yet commented in detail on the border security measures, focusing their immediate reactions to the budget on affordability and the growing deficit.
However, Conservatives have accused the Liberal government of not moving quickly enough with the hiring of 1,000 new CBSA officers as promised earlier this year, and argued that there isn’t enough being done in security screenings of cross-border traffic for illicit goods entering Canada.
A government response last week to questions posed by Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo included data showing that, out of nearly 1.9 million commercial train cars that crossed into Canada last year, just five were found to be carrying illegal items over the border. Among the contraband seized was over 11 million doses of amphetamine.
The government said it could not say how many train cars were actually searched last year “on the grounds that there is a reasonable risk of compromising national security.”
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