Canada’s border agency needs advanced training and data processing tools to help its intelligence program fight everything from arms smuggling to human trafficking. An internal assessment says the same.
A recently published evaluation report by the Canada Border Services Agency also highlighted the sensitive nature of these activities and the lack of data, making it difficult to fully assess the program’s effectiveness.
The program’s responsibilities include collecting and analyzing intelligence related to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, immigration fraud, human trafficking, and preventing the entry into Canada of persons involved in national security or war crimes. According to the assessment from March 2021 to March 2022, training opportunities to support intelligence analysts and officers are not adequate. The main challenge is the unavailability of training.
According to the report, some basic training is only available through outside trainers such as the Privy Council Office and the Canadian Police College. They provide guidance to various intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies.
There is also a perception that the program lacks the kind of technical capacity needed for efficient and effective management. According to the report, the interviewees felt that the CBSA was a data-rich organization. However, they indicated that obtaining data from various sources and verifying it is quite challenging. The program lacks tools to facilitate data analysis.
Many local workers have indicated that they lack some of the basic tools to conduct analysis and investigations or to secure the organization’s network.
