Canada Border Services Agency Celebrates Employee Contributions During National Public Services Week

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 13, 2011) - On the occasion of the 2011 National Public Service Week, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the excellent work of its border services officers (BSOs) and other employees across the country and abroad.

The CBSA, founded in 2003, is charged with enforcing over 90 Acts of Parliament, and providing an integrated and innovative approach to protecting Canadians while at the same time facilitating the vital flow of trade and travel that are cornerstones of the Canadian economy. The CBSA offers services at approximately 1 200 service points across Canada, and 39 abroad. In 2010, over 92 million travelers were processed by border services officers across Canada.

Throughout 2010, border services officers have played a major role domestically in preventing the entry of illegal and dangerous substances into Canada, including the interdiction of more than $632 million worth of illegal narcotics, such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin, and undeclared prescription drugs, such as oxycodone and steroids. Officers also intercepted and seized 453 firearms, and 4, 210 prohibited weapons, such as brass knuckles, stun guns and pepper spray. The CBSA also made 101 seizures of child pornography in 2010. These seizures demonstrate the CBSA's commitment to keeping these types of items out of Canada.

During this same period, BSOs seized over $30 million in undeclared currency and monetary instruments, removing an important source of funding for criminal enterprises in Canada and abroad. Additionally, duties, excise taxes and GST collected from personal and commercial importers totalled over $23 billion. The money collected serves to protect Canadian industry from unfair foreign competition and also helps the Government of Canada fund many of the programs used by Canadians on a daily basis.

Immigration officers and inland enforcement officers removed over 15 000 inadmissible individuals from Canada, an increase of 3% from the previous year. Persons removed include war criminals, criminals and those individuals who misrepresented themselves in an attempt to take advantage of Canada's generous immigration system. The CBSA places the highest priority on removal cases involving national security issues, participation in organized crime, human rights violations and criminality.

Internationally, the CBSA contributed to the training of over 200 Afghan customs officials based on recognized international customs standards between January and October at the Afghan National Customs Academy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

This year also marks the 25^th anniversary of the Our Missing Children program, a joint effort between the CBSA and other law enforcement agencies designed to bring runaways and abducted children home to their legal guardians. Since the program's inception in 1986, more than 1, 650 children have been recovered; in 2010, BSOs were instrumental in returning 11 children to their legal guardians.

These successes – demonstrated in our daily endeavours to keep Canada and Canadians safe – are a testament to the commitment, dedication, expertise and professionalism of the more than 14,000 public servants employed by the CBSA across Canada and abroad.