Q-240 — Mr. Jaffer (Edmonton—Strathcona) — With regard to ports of entry into Canada: (a) what are the standards used by all customs officers across Canada to determine a high-risk traveller or shipment, and what is the standard procedure as to what to do with such a traveller or shipment once it is determined to be high-risk; (b) under what standard procedure are customs officers expected to refer travellers to immigration officers, and is there any standard for immigration officers to notify customs officers as to the results of such referrals; if it is determined that a traveller should be referred to an Immigration officer and there is no immigration officer at that location, what is the standard procedure that a customs officer shoul ...[+++]d follow; (c) why are there no joint Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) evaluations planned to determine the effectiveness of customs officers and immigration officers at the border; (d) is there a standard for the sharing of data and intelligence between customs officers and immigration officers; (e) is there a standard referral procedure by which customs officers can clearly determine by which points should a traveller be referred to immigration officers; (f) is there an agreement between the CCRA and CIC that would provide for periodic evaluations to be performed jointly by CCRA and CIC to determine the effectiveness of their joint operations; (g) what percentage of the time does the Primary Automated Lookout System-Highway equipment correctly read licence plates of vehicles stopped at border crossing booths; (h) what facilities exist for examining commercial shipments at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and where are they located in relation to the bridge customs site: (i) what is the standard procedure for ensuring that truck operators told to report to the facility actually arrive there; and (ii) under what circumstances would procedures dictate that a truck be escort ...

5. The ARGO programme can also finance national projects in the area of external borders aimed at remedying certain structural shortcomings observed at strategic border crossing points on the basis of objective criteria.

The Canadian community would benefit from the bill's introduction of pre-approval programs such as customs self-assessment and CANPASS to clear low risk passengers and goods to expedite their movement at border crossings.

The recommendations shall refer to specific sections of the external borders and to specific border crossing-points to be evaluated in the following year under the multiannual evaluation programme.

be trusted to self-declare, making their travel easier and freeing up our valuable resources for concentration on high risk areas (1815) CANPASS is a refinement and an enhancement of an earlier customs clearance program known as the Peace Arch crossing entry program, called PACE, which was successfully piloted at the customs border point at Douglas, British Columbia.

Hon. Harbance Singh Dhaliwal (Minister of National Revenue, Lib.): The administration cost for the CANPASS/PACE program at each of the British Columbia border crossings has been estimated at $219,000 per year for the CANPASS/PACE lanes at Pacific Highway, Huntingdon, and Boundary Bay, and $279,000 per year for the CANPASS/PACE lane at Douglas.