Highlights — Customs Services

Innovating for the Future

With the Customs Services business line, we continue to modernize our operations, introducing bold new initiatives designed to strengthen border security and streamline the movement of legitimate goods and people.

Through the implementation of the Smart Border Declaration, signed by Canada and the United States, and the 30-Point Action Plan, we are building a safer, stronger, and smarter border. We are also accelerating many of the initiatives we first identified in our Customs Action Plan, applying new state-of-the-art technology and risk-identification methods. Initiatives for the planning period include:

• Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record, which will provide data about airline passengers and crew prior to their arrival in Canada, focusing on high-risk individuals.
  
  
• Alternative Inspection Services for Travellers, through CANPASS-Highway, CANPASS-Air, NEXUS-Highway, and NEXUS-Air, which will simplify and speed entry of pre-approved, low risk travellers at the border.
  
  
• Harmonized Commercial Processing, which will speed clearance and reduce border delays, for pre-approved, low-risk truck drivers, carriers, and importers.

Over the planning period, we will also work to build a Customs Services vision, focusing on our law-enforcement role. We will offer the appropriate tools, equipment, and training as per the Job Hazard Analysis to ensure the occupational safety of our customs officers.

Managing Compliance

The outcome we seek in the Customs Services business line is that Canadians' health, safety, security, and business interests are protected and that Canada's economic growth is supported.

Achieving this outcome is particularly challenging since our customs operations is one of the most complex in Government — providing service to more than 480 air, sea, and land border points.

Key Volumetrics

This will require securing our borders against the threat of dangerous people and goods, while streamlining the movement of legitimate trade and travel that is so vital to our economic growth. Priorities for the planning period include:

• sharing information with other departments and enforcement agencies to prevent the entry of drugs and contraband, and to identify and respond to environmental threats such as disease;
  
  
• advancing our Customs Action Plan initiatives and fulfilling our Smart Border Declaration commitments;
  
  
• emphasizing the Officer Powers Program that has empowered customs officers to arrest and detain individuals;
  
  
• providing information to help our clients comply with the law, while identifying and targeting areas of non-compliance;
  
  
• focusing on border management, post-release verification, and client service, as per the Compliance Improvement Plan; and
  
  
• ensuring that we have a knowledgeable and skilled workforce.

The following table identifies the anticipated results and success criteria that have been developed, and which will guide the Customs Services business line over the planning period.

Expected outcome —
Canadians' health, safety and business interests are protected, and Canada's economic growth is supported, through responsible border and trade management

Anticipated Results	Success Criteria
Enhanced enforcement that expeditiously identifies and responds to threats to the security, health and safety of society, and to Canada's economy	Continue to seize a significant portion (40% to 50%) of all contraband drugs seized in Canada Prompt and appropriate response to all known cases of significant threats to the health, safety and security of Canadians prevention of the entry of inadmissible persons and prohibited goods investigations of dumped or subsidized imports enforcement actions from international threat identification Implementation of Officer Powers at eight ports by March 31, 2004 Modernization of memoranda of understanding with key government departments and agencies to allow, among other things, information sharing and intelligence gathering, joint priority setting for compliance improvement and performance reporting, by March 31, 2005 Increased examinations and detection of contraband across all major categories
Effective compliance management that enhances personal and economic security, and encourages partnerships and sustained compliance	Compliance across border programs is above 90% Develop improved trade compliance data collection mechanisms by March 31, 2004
Responsible services that encourage voluntary compliance and minimize the compliance burden without compromising security	Overall client satisfaction with Customs services is above 77% benchmark 95% of service standards are met (e.g., border wait times, release on minimum documentation, Pre-Arrival Review System release)
Certainty and consistency for international trade and travel	A secure border with the United States that facilitates the movement of low-risk people and goods Negotiation and implementation of customs procedures and trade policy instruments related to new free trade agreements with Singapore, Central America Four, Free Trade Area of the Americas, CARICOM and the new WTO Round by March 31, 2005 Through participation in international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, World Customs Organization and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, influence international standards for rules on customs tariffs, dumping and subsidy determinations, valuation and origin of goods, admissibility, trade incentives and compliance management
Knowledgeable and skilled workforce is in the right place at the right time	Recruit 340 Customs officers by March 31, 2004 Phase II Officer Powers training to 456 customs inspectors by March 31, 2004 60% of staff receiving Customs Inspector Recruit Training Program will become inspectors in their first year on staff Specialized interdiction and enforcement training for 1,200 to 1,500 Customs officers by March 31, 2004

Previous page | Next page

Date modified:

2003-07-03