Statement by the CBSA President on redeployment of staff

The President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Mr. John Ossowski, made the following statement in response to recent media stories about redeployment of CBSA staff to address irregular migration.

“As the President of the CBSA, I wish to clarify inaccuracies and misinformation contained in recent media stories.

“The CBSA has a long and rich history of providing border services in an exemplary fashion, and does so through the collective contribution of over 14,000 dedicated and professional men and women.

"In support of our mandate, and recognizing that the CBSA is an important contributor to Canada’s safety, security and prosperity, we invest significant effort annually to plan and prepare for various peak periods, including the summer travel season.  Significant analysis is conducted to inform us on resources that will be required to address projected trends and patterns to ensure alignment of resources to service demand.   This approach has served us well in past summers, with facilitative service to clients being effectively balanced against our security and safety responsibilities.

“An article falsely states that ‘…border and customs agents are being pulled from the Greater Toronto Area...’ The reality is that we issued a call letter to identify officers across the country, including the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), to solicit interest from officers who would be mobile and ready to assist our operations in Lacolle, and if needed, elsewhere in the country to address increases in volumes – this is a key part of maintaining a dynamic and flexible workforce that can readily respond to emerging issues...

This 19 May 2018 notice is available in its entirety on the CBSA website.