Canada planning technological fixes to make crossing the border faster

Zipping through the Canada-U.S. border in 15 seconds. Facial recognition cameras at the airport to open an electronic gate. Sending your declaration to customs before you even get off the plane.

Those are just some of the changes in the works at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) — partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denis Vinette, vice-president of the CBSA's travellers branch, said the agency had been considering technological changes to the border — but the pandemic has allowed it to break through "glass ceilings" that were in the way.

When COVID-19 hit, the CBSA was confronted with a challenge, Vinette said — how could officers handle the "mounds of paper" and medical information the Public Health Agency of Canada required travellers to present?

The solution was to move to an internet cloud environment and to develop the ArriveCan app, he said.

"ArriveCan, even though we've got low travel volumes, has been really a game-changer," said Vinette. "It's allowed us to deal with information required in a new way and nimble way."

The ArriveCan app also set the stage for a new system that has been introduced already at the Toronto and Vancouver airports. The system allows travellers returning to Canada to voluntarily send their customs declarations to CBSA before their plane even lands.

"By the time I arrive at the airport, all I'll be doing is confirming my identity and my arrival," Vinette said. "And CBSA and other border authorities will have decided already whether or not we have an interest in having an interaction with you."

Once the system is rolled out, a family returning from Disney World, for example, could send the CBSA their advanced declaration and digital travel credentials.

"When they arrive, they come up to the kiosk, their identity is confirmed, they grab their bags, they get into the car and then they ask themselves a question — did I just cross the border? Did I forget to talk to the border services officer?" Vinette said.

He said the CBSA plans to expand the system to other airports and to add the advanced declaration function to the ArriveCan app so that travelers can submit both health and customs declarations at the same time.

The CBSA also wants to introduce the advanced declaration system for those travelling by cruise ship and rail, and for those crossing the land border.

Vinette said that, prior to the pandemic, the CBSA had brought the average time spent speaking with a customs officer at the land border down to an average of 55 seconds. With the new technologies, Vinette said, the agency hopes to bring that average time down to 15 seconds.

Canadians and Americans with NEXUS trusted traveller cards have long been able to go through customs more quickly than others. Now, the CBSA is planning to add facial recognition to NEXUS kiosks at the airport.