Bill to create watchdog for border agency still in limbo as travel season picks up

Canadians, immigrants, tourists and other travellers who feel they’ve been mistreated by a border agent won’t have many options this travel season after a bill to establish an independent complaint review body failed to become law before the House of Commons rose for the summer.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino sounded optimistic last month about the odds of Bill C-20 finally crossing the finish line. The bill would create a Public Complaints and Review Commission to give the existing RCMP watchdog the additional responsibility of handling public complaints about the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

But the bill was still being reviewed at the committee level when the House adjourned for a three-month summer recess late Wednesday.

Mendicino is the third Liberal minister in seven years to promise a watchdog body to oversee the border agency. Previous versions of the legislation got multi-party support but died on the order paper.

“Every day that goes by without effective oversight is very concerning,” said Julia Sande, a human rights lawyer with Amnesty International.

“It’s disappointing to see how long it’s taken. Not for lack of attempts, I suppose.”

The border agency remains the only public safety department without an outside civilian review body, despite the power border officers wield. Border officers can carry firearms and are empowered to search, detain and arrest travellers.

Access to information requests show that, behind the scenes, Canadian border officers have been reprimanded for hundreds of acts of misconduct over the past two years — including preferential treatment, harassment and abuse of powers.

Bill C-20 has received multi-party support but MPs on the committee also heard calls for amendments — such as a change to the process so that RCMP officers aren’t tied up investigating their colleagues, and an increase in the Public Complaints and Review Commission’s budget to allow it to take on more reviews.

A spokesperson for Mendicino said the government hopes the standing committee on public safety and national security will begin its clause-by-clause review of the bill “as soon as Parliament returns in the fall.”

“We look forward to this important bill moving through the House as quickly as possible,” said Audrey Champoux.

NDP MP Peter Julian said that while he’s disappointed the bill didn’t pass before the sitting came to an end, he does see room for improvements. Among other things, he wants the new review body to hire some Indigenous investigators.

“The NDP has tabled amendments to incorporate these recommendations at committee, but unfortunately Conservatives’ political games prevented us from finishing this important work to improve the bill for more transparency and accountability in policing in Canada,” he said.

Conservative MP Raquel Dancho said the Liberals “are squarely at fault for C-20 failing to progress beyond the committee stage.”

“Not only did they waste months of committee time because of their spectacular mismanagement of C-21, but they unilaterally cancelled our committee meeting this week, where we were set to begin clause-by-clause on C-20, to avoid accountability on Minister Mendicino’s reckless mismanagement of his office,” she said in a media statement.

Room for improvements, lawyer says

Amnesty International and a handful of other human rights group wrote an open letter earlier this month condemning the government’s approach to Bill C-20, including its failure to consult them.

Sande said she would like to see the bill amended so that Mounties and CBSA officers aren’t investigating themselves.

“People might be very reluctant to complain to a body that has the power to, for example … detain you or to deport you. People are understandably fearful,” said Sande.

“I think it’s important to consider the groups that CBSA and RCMP interact with, they both disproportionately interact with marginalized groups, including Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups.”

Sande also said she’d like to see the legislation updated so that third parties can lodge complaints.

If passed, Bill C-20 would also require the heads of the RCMP and the CBSA to report annually to the public safety minister on progress in implementing commission recommendations.

The bill also promises to codify deadlines and would require the RCMP to respond to complaints within six months. The RCMP sometimes takes years to properly respond to complaints lodged by members of the public with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.

“When you think about who comes into contact the most with CBSA, and the RCMP, and the fact that this has just been allowed to kind of fall off or slide is concerning,” said Sande.

“I think it needs to be a priority for the government.”