Video—Canada Border Services Agency missed opportunities to stop non-compliant exports

Audit at a Glance—Controlling Exports at the Border

Video Transcript

In our audit focusing on the Canada Border Services Agency’s export control activities, we saw that the Agency had missed opportunities to stop non-compliant exports.

We found that overall, there were weaknesses in the information, practices and authorities the Canada Border Services Agency applies to assess export risks, assign its resources, and act on its priorities.

As a result, some goods that did not comply with Canada’s export control laws were leaving the country.

For example, the Canada Border Services Agency relied on export declarations to identify and examine high-risk shipments.

We found that the Agency was unable to review all the declarations it receives.

Even when the Agency flagged shipments as high-risk, it did not examine about one in five.

We also noted some systematic gaps in coverage.

For example, as a result of staffing challenges, the Agency did not conduct any examinations of parcels leaving Canada at one large processing centre.