On Parliament Hill

The Honourable Steven Blaney, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, recently highlighted two outstanding successes by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that will help keep Canadian families and communities safe.

The Harper Government has reached a major program milestone with successful removals of more than 50 individuals on the CBSA Wanted List; many with criminal activities that have been linked to drugs and organized crime.

Additionally, Canadian border authorities have reached a new intelligence milestone with more than 150 convicted U.S. sex offenders denied entry to Canada.

Together, these milestones reflect the important work our Government is undertaking to help keep our streets and communities safe by ensuring that foreign criminals are turned away from our borders, and removed once found by authorities.

The “Wanted by the CBSA” program has proven to be a useful tool for assisting border services officers in locating individuals who are wanted for removal. To date, as a result of this program, Canadians have assisted the CBSA in locating:

• 59 individuals in Canada, with 51 being removed;
• 17 individuals abroad
• Denial of entry to sex offenders

A recent example of the success of this project took place in November 2014. Information was shared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the scheduled travel to Canada of a 52-year-old male U.S.-registered child sexual offender. Upon arrival, the individual was intercepted by the CBSA, determined to be inadmissible, and returned to the United States.

Our Government is committed to protect Canadians and their families from the threat posed by dangerous criminals. This commitment will continue to play an important role at our shared border.

If you have information about suspicious cross border or suspicious immigration activity, please contact the Canada Border Services Agency Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060.