CBSA employees involved in 259 founded misconduct cases last year: report

From interfering in immigration processing to associating with a known drug trafficker, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees were embroiled in hundreds of misconduct cases last year, according to a new report.

The CBSA’s first annual misconduct and wrongdoing report, published Thursday, covers investigations between April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

The border agency said it closed 364 investigations during the 2024-25 fiscal year, and 71 per cent of them were founded. It marks a slight dip from the year before when there were 319 founded allegations and up from 2022-23 which saw 238 founded cases.

A founded allegation means the investigator concluded there's enough evidence to support the claim.

The majority of the 259 founded cases had to do with "accountability and professional conduct."

The CBSA has kept a record of misconduct cases on its website for years, but produced this report following direction from the clerk of the Privy Council.

Founded cases documented last year include CBSA employees who:

• Failed to conduct a proper search during an arrest.

• Failed to refer an individual subject to a lookout for secondary examination.

• Failed to enter required information in CBSA systems.

• Provided false statements.

• Misused law enforcement databases.

• Cheated on a selection process.

• Interfered in immigration processing.

• Provided preferential treatment to a family member.

There were 15 founded cases that fell under the "criminality and/or criminal association, private, off-duty conduct and outside activities" category.

Those cases involved:

• Associating with known drug trafficker.

• Consuming or being in possession of an illegal substance while off duty.

• Driving a CBSA vehicle while intoxicated.

There were also 21 cases of harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and violence in the workplace.

The report did not give any more details about the founded cases, including location. The CBSA said it could not talk about the cases either, citing privacy reasons.

The misconduct report said four people were terminated due to their behaviour and 14 left the agency. Most corrective measures fell below that threshold and saw the employee receive more counselling (including extra training), or get an oral or written reprimand.

The CBSA — made up of some 17,000 employees, including about 8,500 front-line border officers — remains without an active public complaints body, despite Parliament passing legislation more than a year ago to stand one up.

The government's plan is to expand the mandate of the watchdog that already handles public complaints about the RCMP to also cover the CBSA. Despite receiving royal assent Oct. 31, 2024, the body is still without a chairperson.

Marking the first annual report, CBSA president Erin O’Gorman said the goal is to increase transparency.

"The CBSA can only carry out its mandate if it holds the confidence of those we serve and we can only gain that confidence if we support and trust one another," she wrote.

Thursday's report stressed incidents of misconduct and wrongdoing occur among a small proportion of CBSA employees.