Program directory · Canada Border Services Agency
Commercial Facilitation and Compliance
- Department
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Program code
- BUF05 (CBSA)
- Core responsibility
- Border Management
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Commercial Facilitation and Compliance program administers legislation, regulations and international free trade agreements, as well as develops and administers the regulations, policies, procedures, partnerships and national programs that facilitate the import and export of legitimate goods within established service standards, into and out of Canada. This includes the design, development and maintenance of commercial policy for goods being imported into Canada as well as developing tools, training materials and guidance to support the regional delivery of these core programs. To minimize intervention, the program works with its external partners to promote voluntary compliance; to use risk assessment information at the border; and to conduct post-border compliance verifications. It also supports the development of transformation / modernization priority initiatives such as the eManifest, Commercial Policy Review, eCommerce Strategy as well as other modernization initiatives.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Facilitation and Compliance | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $3B |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Return on investment (ROI) for targeted verifications | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of revenue-based targeted trade compliance verifications that yield a result | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of targeted trade compliance verifications that produced a result | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators dropped: Return on investment (ROI) for targeted verifications | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Renamed from “Commercial-Trade Facilitation and Compliance” to “Commercial Facilitation and Compliance”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of revenue-based targeted trade compliance verifications that yield a result | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned employees (FTEs) 3,405, against 2,770 in 2025-26 (+23%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≤ 1.5% | 2019 | 1.3% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 1.5% | 2020 | 1.4% The result of 1.43% met the target of at most 1.5%. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 1.5% | 2021 | 1.7% The target was not met because the rate of resultant examinations was higher than expected, which may be attributed to more focused examinations as a result of better targeting, along with fewer examinations being conducted overall as a result of the shifting of priorities and resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 1.5% | 2022 | 1.8% It should be noted that this indicator is under review to better reflect its intended purpose of demonstrating results that can be affected by CBSA compliance outreach activities, which is a priority for the Agency in an effort to educate and reinforce compliance among traders. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≤ 1.5% | 2023 | 1.9% This performance indicator is intended to measure instances of minor non-compliance that can be reduced through CBSA compliance outreach activities. However, the existing methodology for this indicator includes resultant examinations that fall outside the scope of minor non-compliance (such as seizures), hence the result does not reflect the intended measurement. The CBSA is implementing a new me… | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≤ 1.5% | 2024 | 1.5% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≤ 1.5% | 2025 | 1.4% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 60% | 2021 | 52% The number of trade compliance verifications conducted in 2020–21 was lower than usual due to the shifting of priorities and resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 60% | 2022 | 52% The CBSA is currently undertaking efforts to enhance its trade risking and revenue targeting capabilities, which are expected to have a positive impact on program performance. While not all revenue-based targeted trade compliance verifications yield findings of non-compliance, it should be noted that even those which do not yield results support the Agency’s mandate by ensuring awareness of compl… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 60% | 2023 | 54% The CBSA is developing and refining its use of data analytics to strengthen its trade risking capacity and ability to detect non-compliance. Additionally, the recently established Trade Risking Network will further strengthen the CBSA’s ability to target non-compliance. | Not met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | At least 8:1 | 2020 | 11:1 | Met |
| 2020-21 | At least 8:1 | 2021 | 5:1 The number of trade compliance verifications conducted in 2020–21 was lower than usual due to the shifting of priorities and resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | At least 8:1 | 2022 | 18:1 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 60% | 2019 | 53% Although the target of 60% was not met, results in terms of duty assessed continued to increase and reflect the Agency’s emphasis on maximizing the impact of trade compliance efforts. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 60% | 2020 | 56% Although the result is below the target, the upward trend over the past three years demonstrates progress toward the target. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 1.5% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $307M | $403M |
| 2019-20 | $347M | $369M |
| 2020-21 | $422M | $432M |
| 2021-22 | $355M | $473M |
| 2022-23 | $344M | $409M |
| 2023-24 | $333M | $428M |
| 2024-25 | $306M | $489M |
| 2025-26 | $379M | — |
| 2026-27 | $466M | — |
| 2027-28 | $480M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $528M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 2,935 | 3,129 |
| 2019-20 | 3,049 | 3,200 |
| 2020-21 | 3,146 | 3,407 |
| 2021-22 | 3,013 | 3,434 |
| 2022-23 | 2,639 | 2,753 |
| 2023-24 | 2,609 | 2,810 |
| 2024-25 | 2,634 | 2,863 |
| 2025-26 | 2,770 | — |
| 2026-27 | 3,405 | — |
| 2027-28 | 3,653* | — |
| 2028-29 | 3,953* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $307,353,288 | $272,835,586 | $271,513,705 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $347,250,700 | $324,606,467 | $307,371,146 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $422,300,276 | $342,464,203 | $327,317,060 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $354,711,181 | $330,233,738 | $325,606,180 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $344,045,465 | $293,064,819 | $287,316,879 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $333,038,570 | $330,779,529 | $310,677,279 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $306,303,748 | $307,520,963 | $292,388,690 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $378,848,192 | $397,440,640 | $381,019,003 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $465,553,294 | $479,931,479 | $528,011,024 | ||||||||
| Actual | $402,884,168 | $369,330,981 | $432,160,413 | $473,221,787 | $409,456,829 | $428,154,112 | $489,306,044 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
