44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 6, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/6/24 10:41:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing at issue here is the fact that Conservatives have historically cut CBSA infrastructure. Detector dogs were reduced under their administration. The teams that worked with the United States, in terms of being proactive, were reduced by Conservatives. They implemented a new training program that did not hire workers until they had spent 18 weeks away from their families, getting $125 a week just to be trained for a potential job. Therefore, we are short thousands of workers.
They mention five workers in the port of Montreal in their motion. Why do they not specifically outline what they will do for the CBSA officers they refer to as “agents”, who do not get the respect they deserve and do not have the infrastructure to stop the vehicles from being stolen?
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- Feb/6/24 11:03:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the history of the culture and how we treat our workers at CBSA is terrible. The government has not improved it very much. In fact, there has been a constant problem with getting proper collective agreements on time. They are done just as the window of the agreement is done and they have to go back to negotiations.
We are short thousands of workers; some during COVID and even before. On top of that, the government would not even give vaccinations to our frontline workers, despite them being on the front line every single day. I think it comes from a culture. I would like to offer the minister an opportunity to apologize. The member Derek Lee from Scarborough—Rouge River got up in this chamber and called our CBSA officers “wimps”. The Liberals have never apologized for that.
I would like the minister to apologize for that or have we gotten past that point from the minister? Are they wimps or not?
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- Feb/6/24 11:03:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was not aware of that comment by our former colleague in this place.
I can tell the member that my interactions with frontline CBSA officers have been extraordinarily positive. I have had an opportunity, with senior officials in Ottawa, to visit a number of CBSA facilities in the short time I have been Minister of Public Safety, including at the Port of Montreal as recently as a few weeks ago.
They are men and women who dedicate themselves to doing difficult work to keep Canadians safe, and intercept the importation of drugs and guns that have done so much damage in our cities and right across the country. Obviously, they are turning their attention to the export of stolen vehicles because one of the best ways we can work with local and regional police is to also bring a choke point at the end, as 60% of the vehicles stolen are, in fact, exported from Canada.
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- Feb/6/24 11:30:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing I really like about the Conservative motion is that it says we need to provide the Canada Border Services Agency with the resources it needs to operate. Something in the earlier discussions caught my attention. Liberal Party members said the Conservatives cut CBSA's budget when they were in power.
Why is there one single officer stationed at the Port of Montreal to conduct searches? Is it because of the Conservatives' budget cuts, I wonder?
Anyway, today they have changed their minds and they want to do more, but maybe they should not blame one government for this whole crisis when the previous government essentially did nothing or actually helped worsen the crisis.
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- Feb/6/24 11:35:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that are really interesting is the lack of training that is being provided for CBSA officers. Right now, people have to go through a recruitment process before they even get a job, and that is hard for women, who actually have to travel to one of two locations, away from their family members, including their children, for up to 18 weeks to get training to get into the service.
I would ask the member if she would support reforming this process to make it more friendly for families and for workers who have children to actually get the training necessary, because we are short thousands of officers.
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- Feb/6/24 12:21:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we could impose harsher sentences, but in order to be able to do so, we have to be able to bring down the organizations and catch the people who are committing these crimes.
Will the member do the honourable thing today and recognize that, by making cuts to the CBSA, the RCMP and ports, the Conservative government made a mistake that is having an impact on what is happening today?
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- Feb/6/24 12:35:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes it is hard to believe some of the things the Conservatives will say. He said they were going to increase supports and have more CBSA officers. It was the Conservative government that cut over 1,000 Canada border control service officers back in 2000. Then the member says that they will increase the penalty from six months to three years. Who do they think put in the six-month minimum? It was Stephen Harper.
Does the member not know what the Conservative Party has actually done? How can he stand and say what he has when the Conservative Party in the past did the absolute opposite?
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- Feb/6/24 12:51:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the reason behind the motion is simple: It is politics. The Leader of the Opposition read something in the paper and thought, “Oh, here's something I can talk about and score a few political points”. Let us be honest.
However, what more can be done is why we are convening this meeting on Thursday. As I said earlier, it has to be a collaborative effort by all parties involved. Auto manufacturers have to be at the table, and they have to be able to say, “This is what we can do to make our cars more safe and protect them against auto theft.” We need law enforcement communities. My friend from Lake Simcoe said that they should stand up and tell us what they can do and what resources they need. The federal government needs to step up and correct some of the problems created by the previous Conservative government, including enhancing the level of resources that are available to CBSA. It is a group effort that has to be done with everybody at the table.
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- Feb/6/24 2:53:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very strange that the party opposite only started talking about auto theft after we announced the fact that we were having a national summit to study auto theft, to bring together all affected parties, and after we realized that it was actually under Prime Minister Harper that boots on the ground were cut. We added 1,000 more to CBSA to staff the border. We are bringing together auto insurers, local law enforcement and industry, and we will reach—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/6/24 3:45:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. It is a very important one. I agree with what he said about the ports of Montreal and Vancouver.
Historically, under any government administration in Canada, we have done a really good job of checking inbound cargo to Canada. We need to do a better job of checking outbound cargo. That has traditionally been the mainstay and the way the CBSA has operated. We also need to provide more resources to CBSA officers to ensure that they have the tools, while we balance the efficiency of our ports to get containers in and out. That is the economic argument.
There is also a security provision; we need to ensure that we are checking enough containers and that we maintain the checking. Also, if individuals put tags in their vehicles, we will know where those vehicles are and we could get them.
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- Feb/6/24 3:45:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it points to a certain level of hypocrisy. When the Conservatives were in power, they did cut over $400 to $500 million for CBSA frontline officers. Recently, on the supplementary estimates, they voted against funding for law enforcement agencies and the brave men and women who keep our communities safe. Whether it is in my hometown of Prince Rupert, where there is an RCMP detachment, or across this country, we hear again and again that the Conservatives are saying no to helping our frontline officers do their job day in and day out.
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- Feb/6/24 4:28:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I will say to my hon. colleague that I did prepare the speech myself. I am not sure if his notes came from the opposition leader's office, but I did see that he spoke off the cuff and therefore I am going to make the assumption, I will be charitable, that he came up with the question, and as a former prosecutor, I certainly hope that he did.
In fact, to go back to that, the member was a prosecutor and certainly would have seen the effects of the Conservative Party's cuts with respect to the CBSA and the RCMP, and also the many social cuts that it made, such as cuts to various programs that youth relied on. I think that is relevant in the discussion too.
I will repeat that it is a party that wraps itself in the flag, wraps itself in a discourse of law and order, but does not present any serious solution to what is admittedly a serious issue, a serious problem in this country, and is not to be taken seriously at all.
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- Feb/6/24 4:29:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, once again, we have a situation where one party is pointing fingers at the other, and then that party just points fingers back. One says it has a better solution, and the other says the opposite. Eventually, everyone points fingers at our party.
That said, prevention is always a good thing. Have mistakes been made in the past? Yes, mistakes may have been made in the past when prevention measures were eliminated. We know that these prevention measures were eliminated. We know that these are good measures, including adding more CBSA officers. That is a good preventive measure.
Why not implement that right away, without waiting for the results of another meeting of discussions and consultations? We are aware of possible solutions. We can move forward. Why not go ahead and follow some of the same approaches that have worked in the past?
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- Feb/6/24 5:01:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have to point out the unbelievable hypocrisy here. The member opposite talks about lack of resources when it was the Conservatives who cut 1,100 jobs out of the CBSA. They talk about lack of resources, and they were going to cut another 400 more.
It has to be mentioned again that Conservatives talk about lack of resources, but they voted against $1.5 billion in funding for the CBSA, which included $1.44 billion for operating and $197 million for capital expenditures. They voted against $2.7 billion for the RCMP. That is like a municipality cutting its budget for the police and then lamenting that crime has gone up.
My question for the member opposite is this: How can he explain Conservatives voting against funding for the CBSA and the RCMP?
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- Feb/6/24 7:58:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we expect procurement processes to be properly followed and any person who commits wrongdoing to face the appropriate consequences.
As my colleague knows, the president of the CBSA has referred allegations of misconduct received in 2022 to its professional integrity division, which has been actively working on its administrative investigation since then.
The president of the CBSA has already implemented changes in how the agency manages and oversees procurement. Better controls and oversight have been put in place, including those people with procurement authority in headquarters retaking their training. Also, it is having a senior committee review every task authorization and is centralizing procurement responsibilities within the organization. These controls will be calibrated over time with a fuller of understanding of what happened and why. This will also be informed by the internal review that is ongoing with respect to the contract documents associated with ArriveCAN.
The CBSA has also suspended its contracts with three companies, including GC Strategies, through a stop-work order from Public Services and Procurement Canada. While investigations are ongoing, it is committed to acting on findings from all audits and reviews to inform the future of contractual arrangements. The CBSA will continue to work with PSPC to improve procurement practices and processes.
I will conclude by stating that the current investigations should not in any way undervalue or dishonour the incredible work the frontline border officers and all CBSA employees do every single day to serve and protect Canadian citizens at the border and in support of our country's prosperity.
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- Feb/6/24 8:00:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we understand and take very seriously the concerns that have been expressed by the hon. member. This government is committed to transparency and accountability. The CBSA and the RCMP are investigating the allegations and the government welcomes these ongoing investigations.
The CBSA was fully engaged with the Office of the Procurement Ombud and will implement its recommendations. The agency will also make improvements based on the upcoming report of the Office of the Auditor General and its own internal review of contracting. The president has also already implemented measures to strengthen and improve procurement processes and internal controls.
I assure all Canadians that the government will continue to prioritize efficiency, accountability and transparency in the management of public resources.
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