Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
Interesting

Lax Border Checks Allow Illegal Drugs To Slip Undetected Out Of Canada: Auditor

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Feb, 2016 11:43 AM
    OTTAWA — The Canada Border Services Agency is not keeping a close enough eye on exports, causing high-risk shipments — including illegal drugs and stolen cars — to leave the country undetected, auditor general Michael Ferguson says.
     
    In his latest series of reports examining the efficiencies and failings of various government departments, the federal watchdog finds the border agency is not reviewing all export declarations and not examining many shipments flagged by its own internal system — or by warnings from other departments.
     
    Up to 20 per cent of high-risk exports identified by the agency's centralized targeting units were allowed to pass without inspection.
     
    Much of the breakdown relates to staff levels; in some locations, inspections cease entirely if a single staff member goes away on vacation.
     
    "We also found that the agency did not always conduct targeting and examinations during all hours and days when export shipments move," the audit said. "This meant that non-compliant shipments were exported undetected."
     
    The audit found that when the agency did detain shipments, it was holding on to legitimate goods far too long and — in some cases — costing businesses their contracts.
     
    Also, Ferguson found that while goods valued under $2,000 do not require a permit, they can be subject to random inspection, but often are not because of a shortage of staff.
     
     
    Small, undeclared parcels are a popular means for drug traffickers to get their illicit products out of the country, but according to Ferguson's report, huntng for those shipments is not a priority under the current system.
     
    "The agency had identified illegal drugs being exported out of Canada as a high-risk area; it made several drug seizures during the period of our audit," said the report, tabled Tuesday in Parliament. 
     
    "But agency officials told us that the limits on their examination authorities reduced their effectiveness in preventing the export of illegal drugs. This limited authority, together with limited resources, resulted in the agency’s not setting export of illegal drugs as an examination priority."
     
    Ferguson said the agency receives a mish-mash of customs declarations and that the whole system should be electronic.
     
    In 2014, the agency received data on about 787,500 electronic forms declarations submitted through the Canadian Automated Export Declaration (CAED) system — an outdated network that was due to be replaced years ago. Additionally, it received at least 44,000 paper declarations.
     
    Exporters intend on evading the inspection system seem to know that all they have to do in order to slip past is to file the paperwork right at the deadline. Declarations must be submitted at least two hours before shipments are loaded on planes and at least 48 hours before loading onto ships.
     
     
     "We were told that about one third of targets were not examined because the agency’s local office received information about the targets too late—that is, after the shipments had already left or been loaded on planes and ships," said the audit.

    MORE Interesting ARTICLES

    'Quarter Of Fresh Harvard Graduates Claims 10 Sex Partners'

    If we believe a latest Harvard University survey, 26 percent of students have had 10 or more sexual partners but 21 percent of senior students rate themselves still virgin.

    'Quarter Of Fresh Harvard Graduates Claims 10 Sex Partners'

    Mystery Of Disappearing Holes In Swiss Cheese Solved: The Milk's Too Clean!

    Mystery Of Disappearing Holes In Swiss Cheese Solved: The Milk's Too Clean!
    BERLIN — The mystery of Swiss cheese and its disappearing holes has been solved: The milk's too clean.

    Mystery Of Disappearing Holes In Swiss Cheese Solved: The Milk's Too Clean!

    Women Want More Sex As They Grow Older

    Women Want More Sex As They Grow Older
    A latest survey looking into women's sexual health has debunked the theory that women are not interested in sex as they get older.

    Women Want More Sex As They Grow Older

    India's Gagan Toor Suggests Winning Name For Mercury Crater To NASA

    India's Gagan Toor Suggests Winning Name For Mercury Crater To NASA
    Enheduanna, the name suggested by Gagan Toor of India, is one of the winners of a contest to name five new craters on the planet Mercury.

    India's Gagan Toor Suggests Winning Name For Mercury Crater To NASA

    'Dino-Chickens' : Indian-origin Researcher 'Grows' Dinosaur Snout In A Chicken In Lab

    'Dino-Chickens' : Indian-origin Researcher 'Grows' Dinosaur Snout In A Chicken In Lab
    In a first, a team led by an Indian-origin researcher has successfully replicated the molecular processes that led from dinosaur snouts to the first bird beaks -- by 'growing' the snout that replaced a chicken's beak in the lab.

    'Dino-Chickens' : Indian-origin Researcher 'Grows' Dinosaur Snout In A Chicken In Lab

    'Yoga Helps Make Life A Pleasant Experience'

    'Yoga Helps Make Life A Pleasant Experience'
    In another curtain-raiser event ahead to the first International Day of Yoga on June 21, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, an Indian mystic and humanitarian, stressed the relevance of yoga in today's world saying it helps make life a pleasant experience.

    'Yoga Helps Make Life A Pleasant Experience'