Conclusion by the Commissioner

Our first two years as an agency have been impressive and challenging. I would personally like to recognize the effective contribution and professionalism of the Customs Border Services, and indeed, the teamwork of the entire CCRA, in responding to the events and aftermath of September 11. Further, through significant advances in the areas of human resources reform and renewal, administrative reform and renewal, and transparent management for results, we have now built a solid corporate infrastructure. It is now time to harvest the benefits of these improvements. To do so, we must channel all our energies into achieving major enhancements in service to Canadians. This is the reason we became an agency.

As we bring our review of 2001-2002 to a close, we can be proud that our consultations on business transformation with our clients, stakeholders, and employees have culminated in the launch of our Future Directions vision document. Future Directions will be the focus of our attention in 2002-2003 and beyond, and will define our agenda in the lead-up to our five-year review by Parliament.

We are determined to achieve performance advances in those areas that have a direct impact on our clients, and to keep setting the bar high. New service standards and performance targets will be introduced. More emphasis will be placed at the front line, where results count most. Canadians will continue to see a real difference in terms of timeliness, convenience, quality, and fairness, among others. In addition, we recognize that we have more to do to take advantage of the flexibility gained through agency status to achieve greater economies of scale with respect to public expenditures that support government administrative processes. Over the coming year, we must push forward and seize the opportunities for new partnership arrangements with other federal government departments and agencies, as well as with other levels of government.

I am proud of our employees and the way they have met the challenges we have faced over the past two years. They play a key role in achieving the major performance improvements we seek. With our new management group now in place, I am confident we can ensure that our employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to meet our clients' needs and to identify opportunities to improve front-line service to Canadians.

I am personally committed to the type of results-based reporting exemplified by this Annual Report. It is important that we account for our use of the resources Canadians have entrusted to us through Parliament in a way that is both transparent and balanced. Our accountability to Canadians rests on the candid examination of our achievements—both successes and areas for improvement—and on our ability to use this information as an effective management tool.

I look forward to working with our employees to achieve management and service excellence. Together we can meet the challenges before us.

Rob Wright
Commissioner
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency

The CCRA at a Glance

Board of Management

Agency Organizational Structure

Date modified:

2002-11-07