Canada’s trucking industry is still grappling with repeated Canada Border Services Agency system outages, even after Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree ordered a 30-day review into a major CBSA system shutdown earlier this fall.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance says immediate action and funding are needed to resolve the long-standing issue, as the outages continue, causing supply chain disruptions, delivery delays, increased costs, and other issues, further exacerbating the operating environment amid the trade war with the US.
As the industry awaits the findings of the minister’s review, CTA is urging the federal government to commit funding to modernizing the CBSA’s ‘antiquated’ technology.
In recent correspondence with Ottawa, the association outlined several recommendations, including overhauling legacy IT systems, reviving CBSA’s system outage working group, improving and amending contingency procedures, and investigating the creation of a reimbursement mechanism for businesses when unexpected, lengthy, and damaging outages occur.
“We’ve continued to experience multiple outages, some lasting several hours, even after the minister launched the 30-day review,” said Lak Shoan, CTA’s director of policy and industry awareness programs, in a news release. “As the industry awaits the forthcoming recommendations, our members’ message is clear: we need strong, effective solutions implemented quickly to restore confidence and stability in a system that has been neglected for decades.”
While a specific release date for the minister’s review has not been confirmed, CTA says that CBSA has indicated the work is underway and will include an action plan identifying technological upgrades and process improvements to reduce both the frequency and the severity of outages. The agency is also collaborating with Shared Services Canada to minimize downtime, strengthen contingency planning, and improve communication protocols during system failures.
“On the eve of the upcoming CUSMA review and the ongoing tariff war with the U.S., it is imperative the Government of Canada send strong signals to our trading partners that doing business in our country is seamless, efficient and cost-effective,” Shoan said.
