CBSA in undergoing as major restructuring, as outlined by CBSA president Stephen Rigby at the BCCC meeting.

At the recent Border Commercial Consultative Committee (BCCC) held in Ottawa on March 9-10, 2010, CBSA president Stephen Rigby addressed the reorganization that is taking place within CBSA and identified the agency's priorities.

The objective of the reorganization, which will become effective on April 1, 2010, is to streamline decision-making and establish clear accountability within the agency.

Under the reorganization, CBSA will have a single Programs Branch, comprising the existing Admissibility and Enforcement Branches. Cathy Munroe will assume the position of Vice President, Programs. Kimber Johnston, former Vice President, Enforcement, was to have been Associate Vice President of the Programs Branch, but has left the agency to assume the role of Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Privy Council Office, on the Afghanistan Task Force.

The Innovation, Science and Technology Branch, which has been a hybrid of programs and information technology, will become the Technology Branch focused on design and the CBSA's operating systems; those divisions involved with program development, such as eManifest, will be transferred to the Programs Branch. Deirdre Kerr-Perrott will continue as the Vice President, Technology. 

In addition, any areas of the Operations Branch that are not strictly related to operations and program delivery are also being moved out of the Operations Branch. Pierre Sabourin will assume the position of Vice President, Operations.

Within the Programs Branch, programs have been grouped together based upon whether they are pre-border, at the border, or post border, with the following new Director General positions being announced:

• Sara Wiebe, Pre-border Programs, which will encompass Advance Information and Programs; Trusted Traders Programs (eg. Customs Self-Assessment and Partners in Protection) and Trusted Travellers Program. Sara is currently Director General, People Programs, Admissibility Branch.
• Maureen Tracy, Border Programs, which will cover traveller and commercial programs at the border, as well as horizontal border policies. Maureen is currently Director General, Operational Programs, Operations Branch.
• Peter Hill, Post-border Programs, with responsibility for inland enforcement, criminal investigation, case management, assessment and licensing, tariff, and origin and valuation. Peter is currently Director General, Enforcement Programs, Enforcement Branch.

Bruna Rados, Director General, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, IS&T Branch, will assume the position of Director General, eManifest and Major Projects, while Glenda Lavergne, the current Director General, eManifest will move on to become director general, Planning and Performance Management. Many of the officials that the association has been consulting with on the eManifest project at the director level and below will continue to be involved in the project, and will simply be moved from the IS&T Branch to the new Programs Branch. The OGD Single Window initiative will also fall within the eManifest and Major Projects Directorate.

Lorne Lawson, the current Director General, Border and Compliance Programs, will become the new Director General of Risk Assessment Programs. Chris Henderson, currently the Director General of International Affairs has been named the new Director General International and Partnerships, with responsibility for international and intergovernmental relations and national client services. This will include responsibility for partnerships with other government departments and agencies, such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Also within the Programs Branch, Daniel Giasson, Acting Vice President, Strategy and Coordination Branch, will become the Director General Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties, and Rachelle May, Major Projects and Systems, People within the IS&T Branch, will become the Director General Business Systems Support.

Among other significant changes, all regional Directors General will report to a Director General at headquarters with the objective of establishing clear priorities and gaining tighter control over how programs are being delivered and how money is being spent. In addition, the Recourse Directorate will report directly to the President’s office, and will also incorporate a complaints process.

Cathy Munroe committed to distributing a copy of the new organizational chart to the members of the BCCC. As soon as it is received, it will be circulated to members and posted on the association website.

In terms of the agency's future direction, Mr. Rigby commented that he has asked his officials to develop a Border Management Action Plan, noting that “visions” tend to be aspirational in nature, whereas the proposed action plan is intended to be grounded in reality setting out what the agency can do as well as what it would like to do. He noted that CBSA will be holding meetings with other government departments as part of border management. Mr. Rigby also highlighted the agency's plans to develop a service charter and priorities.

With regard to the budget announced on March 4, 2010, Mr. Rigby commented that the $87 million over two years for specific CBSA initiatives was generous given the current economic circumstances. CBSA officials are currently analyzing the budget details to determine which specific funding requests were included in the budget. He also noted that CBSA will receive additional funding this year as a result of earlier base submissions (which cover CBSA's day to day operations as opposed to specific programs). Mr. Rigby commented that CBSA has undergone a strategic review over the past year, the results of which were published in the budget. This will require CBSA to reallocate some funding from lower to higher priority items. In addition, as CBSA implements the outcome of this strategic review, it will also have to contend with government wide budget cuts. The 2010 budget documents are available at http://www.budget.gc.ca/2010/index.html

As CBSA proceeds to implement the reorganization, it will also be examining the various consultative mechanisms it has established with the trade community. While it is anticipated that the BCCC will continue, there could be changes to the eManifest Stakeholder Partnership Network (eSPN), for example.

Mr. Rigby will be a keynote speaker at I.E.Canada's Emerging Issues in Customs and Trade Compliance conference in Toronto, April 19-21, 2010.

For a complete report on the BCCC meeting, please click here.

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