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April 2010

Core Services Review: The Creation of Air, Marine and Rail Services Policy Frameworks

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) ensures the security and prosperity of Canada by managing the access of people and goods into and out of the country. One of the Agency's major tasks is to provide passenger clearance services at various ports of entry such as airports, marine ports and railway depots.

With a view to improving the way border clearance services are delivered, the CBSA undertook a two-phased review of its core services. Phase I focused on delivery of services in the air mode; Phase II of the review focused on passenger clearance services in the marine and rail modes. The review provided a foundation for the creation and implementation of policy frameworks for service delivery in these three modes of travel, and fulfills the Agency's commitment to provide a service delivery approach for the travel industry that is fair, transparent and flexible.

Initiating a review

In the course of consultations, industry stakeholders advised the CBSA that it could do a better job of responding to the travel industry's needs. Industry stakeholders pointed out that CBSA hours of operation at certain locations did not respond well to the need for service, highlighting the fact that the travel industry does not operate on a nine-to-five basis. Industry stakeholders expressed the view that a consistent, transparent approach to obtaining new or additional levels of publicly-funded services should be made widely available.

As a result, the CBSA undertook a comprehensive review of its service level standards in two phases, which included direct consultations with industry stakeholders. A detailed account of these consultations can be found in the Core Services Review: Air Mode Report and/or the Core Services Review: Marine and Rail Modes for Passengers Report. Both of these reports are also available in print or electronic format by contacting the CBSA's Core Services Review team at csr-esb@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

Defining "core services"

CBSA "core services" refer to the unique set of border clearance services provided by the Agency on behalf of the Government of Canada at each port of entry in all modes of travel. The level of core services provided relates to the following elements: 

• the number of hours of service that the CBSA currently provides at each site, such as an eight-hour-a-day or a seven-day-a-week schedule;
• the type of service that the CBSA is required to provide on behalf of the Government of Canada, such as  the clearance of international passengers at airports; and
• CBSA's operational capacity at any given site.

Additional information on core hours for specific locations can be found in the Directory of CBSA Offices.

Putting the frameworks into action

The objective of the Core Services Review was to develop a collaborative, comprehensive policy framework in all three modes of travel that would help guide CBSA decisions on how to effectively allocate resources. The air framework, which took effect April 1, 2009, and the marine and rail frameworks which took effect April 1, 2010, establish a consistent, open and equitable process for determining how future requests for additional levels of core services will be addressed.

The frameworks use a set of measurable, transparent criteria to categorize ports of entry according to:

•  international passenger volumes;
• frequency of arrivals; and
• distance of CBSA regional offices from service locations. 

All established criteria must be met for a site to be eligible for new or enhanced publicly- funded CBSA services.

The frameworks' guidelines assist the CBSA in assessing business cases from stakeholders in support of requests for services. Each request is reviewed on a case by case basis and include an assessment of the viability and long-term sustainability of introducing or expanding publicly-funded border services.

Funding information

Based on an assessment of eligibility using the Air Services Policy Framework, the CBSA  expanded publicly-funded border services at six airports. In addition, three ports in the marine mode and one location in the rail mode are being funded for increased levels of core services based on the application of the new frameworks.

In 2009-10, resources to cover the costs of core services delivery were made available at the following ports of entry.

Air Mode	Investment amount
Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport	$647,484
Abbotsford International Airport	$634,470
Toronto City Centre Airport	$1,744,223
Regina International Airport	$678,351
Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport	$678,351
Deer Lake Regional Airport	$670,224
Total	$5,053,103

Note: The tables below are subject to Budget 2010 announcements.

In 2010-11, resources will be invested in the following ports of entry.

Rail Mode	Investment amount
Vancouver (Amtrak)	$1,497,163
Total	$1,497,163

Marine Mode	Investment amount
Port of Sydney	$474,737
Port of Nanaimo	$1,859,347
Chicoutimi – La Baie	$28,755
Total	$2,362,839

For more information on the Core Services Review, please visit the Core Services Review section.