A Canada Border Services Agency patch is seen on the uniform of a CBSA officer at Vancouver International Airport.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Whistle-blower advocates released a report Thursday that criticizes the federal government for failing to implement a 2024 law that would create a new oversight body for Canada’s border agency.
Bill C-20 received royal assent in October, 2024, after debates in Parliament spanning more than two years, including a unanimous 323-0 vote at third reading in the House of Commons.
The law calls for the creation of an independent Public Complaints and Review Commission to review and investigate complaints against employees of the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency. While the RCMP currently has a review body, which the new commission would replace, there is no such oversight for the CBSA.
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The border agency’s national-security activities are subject to review by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, but Bill C-20 covers a broader range of issues, allowing any individual to file a complaint related to the conduct of RCMP or CBSA employees.
The commission could also investigate complaints from public servants unless it determines that other review avenues are more appropriate.
In a report released Thursday, the Whistleblowing Canada Research Society said the lack of implementation leaves whistle-blowers with no independent review body to address their complaints about the CBSA.
The organization’s president, Pamela Forward, said in an interview that the new law is “quite powerful” and should be put into effect as soon as possible.
“It gives very strong investigative powers to the new complaints commission,” she said, adding that she’s seen no clear explanation from the government for its lack of action. “It’s quite unusual that it should be delayed for so long.”
Simon Lafortune, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, said in a statement that the government is working to set up the new commission.
“Establishing a new organization with an expanded mandate spanning two federal agencies – including governance, staffing, IT systems, and operational protocols – takes time, and we are committed to ensuring the commission is fully equipped to deliver on its mandate effectively from day one,” he said.
The minister’s office said the government will launch consultations later this year on regulations related to the new commission, but did not say when the commission is expected to launch.
Thursday’s Whistleblowing Canada report includes an in-depth review of the events related to Luc Sabourin, a former CBSA official who told a House of Commons committee in 2023 that he had faced harassment and intimidation after raising concerns about an incident in 2015.
Mr. Sabourin told MPs in 2023 that eight years earlier, superiors ordered him to destroy passports and indicate in federal databases that the passports had been returned to the respective embassies.
“I reported them, and it cost me my career,” said Mr. Sabourin, whom the advocacy group describes as one of Canada’s most prominent whistle-blowers.
The Whistleblowing Canada review said his case demonstrates why independent oversight of CBSA is needed.
CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer said in an e-mail that Mr. Sabourin’s allegations were thoroughly investigated by impartial persons who concluded that no inappropriate destruction of passports occurred.
Mr. Reimer also said the agency is working hard to support the new commission’s work. In the interim, he said, the CBSA has processes in place to respond to citizen complaints, and agency staff have other complaint options available as public servants.
The issue of whistle-blowers and the CBSA is currently before the House of Commons public safety and national security committee. It approved a motion in December from Conservative MP Rhonda Kirkland that the committee should study “the systemic discrimination and toxic workplace culture with the Canada Border Services Agency.”
Ms. Kirkland told MPs her motion was inspired by several whistle-blowing CBSA employees who came to her with allegations of hostile work environments, including claims of bullying and harassment.
CBSA president Erin O’Gorman responded to Ms. Kirkland’s concerns during a December committee meeting exchange.
“I’m not going to defend all of the individuals at the CBSA,” she said. “We have systems and processes that are there to address issues of discrimination and harassment, but I’m not going to testify that they are all working and that people don’t experience discrimination and harassment in the workplace.”
The agency president said the CBSA has been clear about the work needed in this area with respect to its code of conduct and human-resources policies.
“I’m going to step back and say that we have some problems in the agency that include people being subjected to harassing and discriminatory behaviour. I’m being clear about that. We need our systems and processes to work,” she said.
Mr. Reimer, the agency spokesperson, said additional recommendations to address harassment and discrimination are being finalized.
In an interview, Ms. Kirkland said she’s hopeful her proposed study will begin before the end of the year. She also said she’s received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from current and former CBSA employees since she started raising the issue, leading her to conclude that “something’s not right” with the agency.
“People who reach out to me are genuinely afraid of reprisal. They’re afraid to speak up about things as serious as sexual assault,” she said. “There’s so much that needs working on, and the fact that there is no external oversight – so they’re investigating themselves – is creating a real problem.”