Operational Bulletin 589 – September 08, 2014

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Feedback Form for Security Screening Assessments – Phase One

Summary

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) plans to launch a new feedback form. This form would come into effect from September 08, 2014. This form would evaluate the security screening assessments provided to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). It would evaluate these security screening assessments on the following parameters:

• Consistency
• Quality and,
• Timeliness

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) plans to implement the feedback form in two phases. These comprise:

• Phase One
• This pilot would take place over a two-month period
• It will include:
• The Case Processing Centre in Ottawa (CPC-O)
• The Mission in Paris
• The Mission in New Delhi and,
• The Mission in Mexico City
• The objectives of this pilot would be to:
• Identify any technical and content-related issues prior to full implementation and,
• Eliminate any technical and content-related issues that arise prior to full implementation
• Phase Two
• The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would implement this following the completed analysis of Phase One
• The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) plans to implement this in the winter or 2015
• This phase will include all missions and inland offices

The authorities would issue a separate operational bulletin concerning Phase Two prior to its implementation.

Note:

• The completion of a feedback form is mandatory for temporary and permanent resident security screening assessments where:
• The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided a non-favourable security screening assessment or,
• The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided a favourable security screening assessment, which included partner information

Background

The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) conducted an audit in 2011. It recommended that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) implement a quality assurance process, which would assess the security screening assessments provided by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to the CIC, based on their:

• Consistency
• Quality and,
• Timeliness

The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) felt that such a process would support the decision-making process. It also felt that the responses given on the forms would enable the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and its partner to improve their:

• Products and,
• Performance management

As a result, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decided to introduce and implement the feedback form.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Feedback Form Procedures

• Who Would Need to Complete the Form
• The immigration or visa officer would complete the form if the officer:
• Reviewed the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) assessment and,
• Rendered the final decision on the:
• Temporary Resident Visa application or,
• Permanent Resident Visa application
• In Phase One, officers from the following locations would complete this form:
• The Case Processing Centre in Ottawa (CPC-O)
• The Mission in Paris
• The Mission in New Delhi and,
• The Mission in Mexico City
• How Would the Officer Complete the Form
• The first two worksheets of the Excel workbook contain:
• The Feedback form and,
• The guide
• Officers would need to complete the form each time they review the following types of assessments and render the corresponding final decisions:
• Non-favourable security screening assessments or,
• Favourable security screening assessments, which included partners’ information
• What is the Compliance Level with the Security Classification
• The blank feedback forms and the Excel workbook are classified Protected B documents
• Once completed, they receive the Secret classification
• How Should the Officer Submit the Form to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
• The officer would need to submit the previous month’s completed forms by the fifth day of each month
• The officer would send the completed forms via C5 e-mail
• Feedback on Favourable Assessments that do not Contain Partners’ Information
• In certain situations, the immigration or visa officer might like to provide feedback on favourable assessments, which do not contain partners’ information
• In this scenario, the immigration or visa officer would need to send an e-mail directly to the appropriate Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) security screening unit

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)