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Evaluation of travellers processing through a GBA+ lens:
3. Contributing factors

Seemingly neutral rules, standards, policies, practices or requirements are sometimes put in place without considering the unique needs or circumstances of diverse groups. This may have an adverse or discriminatory effect. The multiple risk indicators used to identify potential high-risk travellers could have unintended consequences on various diverse groups.

Several factors can contribute to how travellers are processed at the border, including the agency's policies, procedures, and guidance for frontline personnel and NTC targeting officers, their awareness of these materials and the training that they receive. The agency's culture may also affect the overall acceptance, appreciation, and adoption of GBA+ in everyday work practices, according to a survey of frontline personnel (i.e. BSOs and Superintendents) and NTC Targeting Officers.

The viewpoints of evaluation survey respondents on the future direction of GBA+ at the CBSA were largely polarized in end-of-survey, open-text responses (n=97). For example, 41% (n=40) of respondents emphasized the need for more agency support and emphasis on issues, such as equity, diversity, and inclusion (including: mandatory, in-person training). This was viewed as an important measure to ensure a common understanding of the importance of putting into context the behaviours of travellers for negating risk and treating travellers equitably. In contrast, 31% (n=30) of respondents expressed the opinion that this focus is not valuable or needed (e.g. that it is too political) and may, in fact, hinder their performance of the agency's law enforcement functions.

The following section focuses on evidence from the survey and document review, and suggests areas of concern that the agency should investigate further.

3.1 GBA+ related training and awareness

In 2019, the Training and Learning Solutions Division launched the GBA+ Strategy, which included:

  • efforts to increase awareness amongst CBSA employees of Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) GBA+ training
  • the development of tools to facilitate integration of GBA+ in future training and learning solutions

The agency also launched the CBSA Positive Space course in 2019, to familiarise officer trainees with gender identity issues as they deliver services to the public. However, this course is not yet mandatory. Of the relevant mandatory courses, no course is specifically related to GBA+, gender diversity, or cultural awareness. The only exception is the Akwesasne Cultural Awareness Training, which is mandatory for all CBSA staff at the Cornwall port of entry.

Overall, frontline personnel reported positive outcomes from the GBA+ related trainingFootnote 27 that they completed. For example, 60% (n=553) of frontline respondents (922) reported that as a result of their GBA+ related training, they felt more comfortable performing their duties when interacting with travellers from diverse backgrounds. However, only 11% of respondents reported having completed the "Introduction to GBA+" course provided by WAGE. On average, participation in non-mandatory GBA+ related courses was noticeably lower (19%) than in the three mandatory courses (68%). When explaining why they did not complete certain training courses, 80% (n=727) of respondents indicated that they were "not aware of the course(s)."

Overall, survey respondents were satisfied with coverage on GBA+ related subject areas.Footnote 28 However, 46% (n=430) of frontline respondents (n=922) were not at all satisfied or satisfied to a small extent with coverage on engaging with travellers experiencing mental illness or displaying mental health concerns. The self-guided, online format of many courses was viewed unfavourably. Some of the comments suggested that it is not suited to the seriousness of the subject matter. Others considered that the format was not accessible or suitable to all learners and learning styles.

3.2 Policy awareness and communication

Example: Challenges can arise for transgender travellers when the gender recorded on certain travel or legal documents do not match. Permanent Residents (PR) of Canada, from countries that do not acknowledge transgender, non-binary, or intersex persons (e.g. Mexico, Jamaica, Uganda), may have discrepancies between the gender recorded on their PR card and their passport. A lack of guidance for frontline personnel on how to appropriately and respectfully respond to these scenarios may lead to confusion and misunderstanding and may negatively impact travellers.

55% of frontline survey respondents (n=922) reported that they had not observed any adverse or discriminatory effects on travellers resulting from the agency's rules, standards, policies, practices, or requirements. However, many key guidance documents (e.g. CBSA Enforcement Manual, People Processing Manual) contain few or no GBA+ considerations and have not been recently or consistently updated.

Interview and survey data, as well as document review, suggested that CBSA policies related to personal searches may not provide sufficient or appropriate guidance to BSOs for conducting searches of travellers with diverse gender identities.

The CBSA Enforcement Manual has not been revised with updated guidance and procedures regarding personal searches of transgender, non-binary, and/or intersex travellers. While Operational Bulletins on personal searches were issued in 2011 and 2020 as appendices to the CBSA Enforcement Manual, the bulletin issued in 2011 used terms which may be considered outdated and inappropriate.Footnote 29

Some updates have been made to policy guidance in the travellers stream. The CBSA People Processing Manual provides frontline personnel with unique considerations that require them to adopt a process of communication and interaction adapted to the situation:

  • awareness considerations (e.g. a person's culture)
  • directive that prohibits all forms of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, including racial profiling
  • guidelines on effective communication
  • regulations and requirements regarding the services that are provided to travellers with disabilities

90% (n=851) of all survey respondents (n=942) reported that they agreed or somewhat agreed that in order to do their jobs effectively, they need to recognize their personal and implicit biases (i.e. biases which can operate outside of a person's awareness and can be in direct contradiction to a person's beliefs and values, unconsciously affecting their behaviour). This may suggest that the agency's efforts to integrate GBA+ into its guidance materials contributed to respondents' awareness of the importance of understanding one's own biases when engaging with travellers.

The agency may need to further explore the effectiveness and potential impacts of frontline personnel relying on non-verbal indicators, given the importance of risk negation with an understanding of travellers' diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. Despite the guidance in the People Processing Manual referenced above, 64% (n=593) of frontline respondents (n=922) agreed or somewhat agreed that observing non-verbal cues can be used to determine if someone is lying, regardless of their background. Further, 40% (n=140) of open-text survey responses indicated that using non-verbal indicators such as [*] are "extremely important" or "moderately important" as risk indicators when deciding to refer a traveller to customs secondary.

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