Create a new watchdog to review border agency, RCMP, federal report recommends

The suggested Canada Law Enforcement Review Commission would scrutinize both institutions, given the frequent overlap between the two

The Trudeau government should create a new watchdog to handle public complaints about the Canada Border Services Agency, says a federally commissioned report.

The report, prepared for Public Safety Canada, also recommends the proposed body be able to look into trends and any systemic problems at the border services agency.

The new watchdog, the Canada Law Enforcement Review Commission, would scrutinize both the border agency and the RCMP, given the frequent overlap between the two enforcement organizations.

The June 2017 report by former Privy Council Office chief Mel Cappe, now a professor at the University of Toronto, was obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act.

Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, would not comment directly on Cappe’s recommendations, but said the government is working on legislation to create an “appropriate mechanism” to review CBSA officer conduct and handle complaints.

“The government is committed to ensuring that our border services are world class and worthy of the trust of Canadians.”

The government is committed to ensuring that our border services are world class and worthy of the trust of Canadians

The border agency’s thousands of employees manage the flow of about 100 million travellers — as well as some 16 million commercial shipments — entering Canada annually. They collect, analyze and distribute information concerning people and goods at border points, air terminals and seaports.

Border officers can stop travellers for questioning, take blood and breath samples, and search, detain and arrest citizens and non-citizens without a warrant. The border agency faces tough questions about its role in immigration detention following in-custody deaths.