Letter to the Editor

Toronto Sun – April 26, 2012

RE: Tom Godfrey article 'Border official arrested: charged with buying tickets to send deportees home from family business'

I would like to express my concern with both the false headline in the above-noted article as well as the errors in the facts in your reporter's story. Your reporter did not contact the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for comment as cited in his inaccurate article.

The CBSA has addressed questions, stemming from this article, from two other reporters with the Toronto Sun. In addition, we have spoken directly with Mr. Kevin Hann, Deputy Editor, about the inaccuracies within this article.

Let me be clear and reiterate: there is no current police investigation against any employee at the Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre or the Greater Toronto Area for that matter, nor have any arrests been made as indicated by your reporter. In fact, police have not attended 6900 Airport Rd., nor have they removed any records. These allegations are completely false as indicated in the e-mails sent to your paper when CBSA comments were sought only after the article was published.

The matter concerning the purchase of airline tickets from someone other than an approved government contractor was previously brought to management's attention and subsequently investigated. I am able to confirm that no familial connections of the vendor to any CBSA employee exist, and that corrective measures have been implemented to ensure that airline tickets are purchased through authorized government contractors only.

Had the Toronto Sun allowed the CBSA the opportunity to provide factual information, prior to publication, a more truthful account would certainly have been the result.

While I understand the need to publish timely news and get it out fast, it is equally important to get it right. An opportunity to provide the facts is always appreciated and serves everyone best: the Agency, the public and the media.

Goran Vragovic
Regional Director General
Greater Toronto Area Region
Canada Border Services Agency