Canada Border Services Agency seeks vision for trusted traveller programs

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ABC Kiosks at Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Photograph by: Handout photo , Toronto Airports Authority

OTTAWA ? The Canada Border Services Agency wants an outside expert to assess its trusted traveller programs and other border programs to recommend ways they can be improved and streamlined. It also wants to know how it can accomplish that without spending more money.

The CBSA has given interested parties until March 19 to submit bids to develop a ?trusted traveller vision.? The assignment involves assessing the NEXUS, CANPASS and Automated Border Clearance programs, as well as the CBSA?s Integrated Primary Inspection Line support tool, and proposing possible changes to ensure they ?continue to provide a valuable service within an integrated border continuum.?

The CBSA completed a comprehensive internal review of the NEXUS program last year that highlighted gaps and suggested improvements, according to minutes of the agency?s air consultative committee, an industry advisory group.

It has also produced a discussion paper ?to facilitate discussion internally and with the vendor who is awarded the contract,? CBSA spokeswoman Esme Bailey said in an email. The agency declined a Citizen request to provide a copy of the paper.

Bailey said the agency choose to invite bids to develop the trusted traveller vision ?to obtain an independent and objective view? of the programs? future.

Having an ?enhanced vision? ensures that the CBSA can continue to improve the programs and provide a service to trusted travellers that is ?viable and beneficial to clients, partners and stakeholders, while remaining efficient and effective for the government of Canada,? Bailey said.

NEXUS and CANPASS are programs for low-risk, pre-approved travellers, who pay an annual membership fee of $50.

CANPASS Air is a CBSA program that allows members to cross the border faster when they arrive in Canada from other countries.

NEXUS is jointly administered by the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and enables members to cross the border faster when travelling to Canada and the United States. As of June 2012, it had 680,000 members in the two countries.

The Automated Border Clearance (ABC) program is a more recent initiative that uses self-service touch screen kiosks to partially automate the processing of Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning to Canada, though a CBSA officer must still verify their documents.

The kiosks are available at the international airports in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Airports in Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton are expected to receive them next. Use requires no registration or fee.

According to the Nov. 7, 2012 minutes of the air consultative committee, the CBSA expects four million air travellers will be using ABC kiosks by April 2013.

According to the CBSA, the ABC program streamlines a portion of the border clearance process without compromising Canada?s national security or public safety.

The program may also allow the agency to reduce the number of officers at border crossings. Minutes of the March 1, 2012 meeting of the air consultative committee say the CBSA had briefed its union about the ABC program?s expansion, adding: ?This may become a hot topic.?

Saving money has been a priority for CBSA officials since last spring?s 2012 federal budget, which required the agency to cut its annual budget by more than $143 million by 2014-15.

That?s evident in the statement of work for the trusted traveller vision contract, which says one of the tasks involves a financial analysis to determine the net present value of future investments.

The analysis should determine the immediate capital and operating costs of implementing the trusted traveller vision ?and the necessary benefits (i.e., cost savings) that would need to be generated to achieve a zero cost analysis,? the document says.

CBSA says the study should provide ?a clear view of the present state of (the agency?s) border continuum activities,? as well as options for the future of trusted traveller programs that ?strike the right balance between security and facilitation.?

Specifically, the study should determine:

* What the ?next level? for NEXUS should be, and what the CBSA needs to do or invest to bring it there, as well as the future international growth of the program.

* Future alternate or improved service enhancements for trusted travellers.

* Use of technology to ?reduce or eliminate the need for a trusted traveller to interact with a border services officer or cashier.?

* Changes that could make it easier to clear low-risk travellers.

The CBSA says the successful bidder must complete all work by May 31.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/ButlerDon

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Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F240/~3/wvQ-bPgIyvM/story.html

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