Border Security?

[Bobert]

I was doing some research on the Canadian Border Services Agency. Allot of the duties the speak of are related to mostly customs and food/health inspection. In the U.S. they have the border patrol, which does not enforce costums legislation, but actually patrols the northern, but mostly the southern border. I'm wondering if anyone knows if the Canadian Border Services Agency actually patrols the border not just border crossings? If not does the RCMP do this or any other law enforcement agency?

 

[George Wallace]

Let's just say that the Border is not "open".  It is monitored.

 

[Crown-Loyal]

I was doing some research on the Canadian Border Services Agency. Allot of the duties the speak of are related to mostly customs and food/health inspection. In the U.S. they have the border patrol, which does not enforce costums legislation, but actually patrols the northern, but mostly the southern border. I'm wondering if anyone knows if the Canadian Border Services Agency actually patrols the border not just border crossings? If not does the RCMP do this or any other law enforcement agency?

Yes alot of the duties of BSO's (border services officers) are like you say enforcing the customs act as well as Immigration and refugee protection act (IRPA) and when the agency was created in 2003, BSO's were given the job of enforcing over 90 other acts for other government departments such as food inspection for Canadian food inspection Agency (CFIA) and health canada inspections on things being brought into the country and on and on the list goes....

However,  we are also Peace Officers, with the authority to enforce the criminal code.

As for the Border Patrol. patrolling the border is the RCMP Border Integrity Units job, the rcmp also has a customs and excise branch. However, as CBSA evolves into a more law enforcement oriented agency, this MIGHT change. there is currently a border patrol project running in Quebec involving CBSA officers and the RCMP. The end goal is hopefully having the Agency tasked with dealing with borders also be the agency patrolling them. but that is  A LONG way off. Our US partners do a fine job of patrolling the border and notifying the proper canadian authorities when need be.


It is a young agency, if you dont count the fact that Canada Customs is older than the RCMP, but CBSA as it sits has only been around since 2003, and it is in it's growing stage.

 

[IrishCanuck]

Bobert,

What I'm guessing you are talking about is in between ports of entry, because US Border Patrol tries to interdict inadmissble persons (illegal migrants, criminals etc) and contraband in between the US ports of entry.

That's what CBSA is focussed on at all ports of entry, and it is spreading in between ports of entry as well, although as Crown-Loyal alluded to, it's still in it's infancy.

CBSA has inland enforcement that hunts down and removes inadmissible persons that are in Canada, or have entered the country illegally. These officers are plainclothes, as opposed to the uniform prescence at the border. They are armed just like front line BSO's.