OTTAWA - Canada's border agency allows some strategic nuclear and military equipment to leave the country without checking whether rogue countries or terrorists are the buyers, a new report suggests.
The finding comes shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper assured U.S. President Barack Obama that Canada takes border security seriously.
The internal evaluation found that exporters of strategic equipment that's subject to strict controls too often file their own paperwork after hours at border crossings - without inspections by the Canada Border Services Agency.
"Exporters continue to have a choice of submitting their export declaration in paper format," says the document, dated November 2008.
"Paper . . . forms are reported at a CBSA-designated export office where exporters use a self-serve stamp machine and reports are left unsecured after-hours at certain offices . ..."
"If a declaration was submitted outside the CBSA's hours of operation, there will have been no verification."
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, trading nations such as Canada have taken more responsibility for vetting their exports to identify potentially dangerous goods, rather than leaving the problem to importing countries.
Most exporters in Canada file their declarations electronically ahead of shipping, allowing the border agency to better manage inspections and to red-flag suspicious cargo.
But about 15 per cent of all exports from Canada are reported on a paper form, which hobbles the inspection process. The United States and the European Union, on the other hand, require all export declarations to be made electronically in advance of shipping.
"The CBSA has yet to develop a plan for implementing mandatory pre-departure electronic reporting of exports," says the document.
The report calls for an end to antiquated paper forms, just as paper forms have been eliminated for import declarations in Canada since 2004.
The paper form for exports - the so-called B13A form - requires the shipper to describe the goods in detail, and to provide the identity of the buyer and the country of destination.
Export permit information is also mandatory in the case of controlled goods. About 5,000 such permits were issued last year for military and strategic goods or technology.
Several reviews of the paper forms last year, based on samples, found that about half were for machinery and equipment - and that "about half of the goods reported this way were non-compliant."
"Non compliant" can range from simple administrative errors to exporting controlled goods without a permit. Agency spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said a "high proportion" of the non-compliance was because of administrative errors.
Canada's export control list, based in part on international agreements covering nuclear technology, requires permits for items that have potential military and strategic uses, such as sonar equipment or nuclear reactor parts.
Agency investigators found that some truck drivers cheat by using the same photocopied paper form for different export shipments.
"Drivers simply use the self-service stamp machine to enter the proper date - if at all - raising suspicions that the export reports in the highway mode are not accurate."
The report also found that some border officers have just two hours after a paper form is submitted to inspect the cargo, which is often impractical as shipments can be located at warehouses spread out over several kilometres.
"Export programs have been operating at a minimal level," the report concludes. "Limited examination facilities and tools constrict program effectiveness and efficiency."
The investigators added: "Having solid export processes and policies helps the relationship with the United States and also prevents potential terrorist threats from entering the United States from Canada."
Export declarations, whether paper or electronic, are not required for goods shipped to the United States but are required for all non-U.S. destinations.
The agency says it will produce a study by October on how to eliminate paper forms and tighten security. LeBlanc said the agency is committed to mandatory electronic reporting for the "long term."
Canada's top three export destinations are the United States, Japan and Britain.
During U.S. President Obama's whirlwind visit to Ottawa last month, Harper assured Americans that "not only have we since 9-11 made significant investments in security . . . along our border, the view of this government is unequivocal: threats to the United States are threats to Canada."
