What we do

The Canada Border Services Agency carries out its responsibilities with a workforce of approximately 17,000 employees, including over 8,500 front line employees who provide services at 1,200 ports of entry across Canada and in 36 countries.

Responsibilities

The Canada Border Services Agency's legislative, regulatory and partnership responsibilities include:

• administering legislation that governs the admissibility of people and goods, plants and animals into and out of Canada
• detaining those people who may pose a threat to Canada
• removing people who are inadmissible to Canada, including those involved in terrorism, organized crime, war crimes or crimes against humanity
• interdicting illegal goods entering or leaving the country
• protecting food safety, plant and animal health, and Canada's resource base
• promoting Canadian business and economic benefits by administering trade legislation and trade agreements to meet Canada's international obligations
• enforcing trade remedies that help protect Canadian industry from the injurious effects of dumped and subsidized imported goods
• administering a fair and impartial redress mechanism
• promoting Canadian interests in various international forums and with international organizations
• collecting applicable duties and taxes on imported goods

Our work at the border and beyond

• The CBSA manages 117 land-border crossings and operates at 13 international airports
  • Of these land-border crossings, 61 operate on a 24/7 basis, as well as 10 of the international airports
• Officers carry out marine operations at major ports, the largest being Halifax, Montréal and Vancouver, and at numerous marinas and reporting stations
• Officers perform operations at 27 rail sites
• The CBSA investigates, detects, and apprehends violators of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• The CBSA conducts lengthy and complex investigations of suspected war criminals, national security cases, and organized crime groups
• The CBSA represents the interests of the CBSA and CIC at Minister's Delegate, Immigration Division (ID), Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), Refugee Protection Division (RPD), and Federal Court proceedings
• The CBSA processes and examines international mail at 3 mail processing centres
• The CBSA administers more than 100 acts, regulations and international agreements, many on behalf of other federal departments and agencies, the provinces and the territories