a matter of national security is a matter that will be considered elsewhere in CIGI’s Reimagining a Canadian National Security Strategy project. However, the point at hand demonstrates how certain facets of border policy that are not usually considered to be directly tied to national security may have national security implications. Border policy has evolved over time in response to a changing global environment. The process of globalization and digitization over the preceding decades has expanded cross-border traffic in goods and people and amplified the complexity of crossborder issues. This is especially true in the realms of technology, health security and climate change, the latter of which is reshaping migration patterns and transforming the previously inaccessible Canadian Arctic into a new and complex “border region.” The September 11 terrorist attacks forced a more sudden shift in border policy, focusing attention on its national security ramifications. In the 20 years since, Canada’s bilateral work with the United States, and multilateral work with a broader set of allies, has continued to strive toward greater border security while also enabling the flow of cross-border commerce and travel. Most notably, advances have been made in assessing risks pre-arrival, and pre-clearance activities have been implemented to reduce congestion at the border. Such methods have effectively extended the responsibility of border security both temporally and geographically. The identification of risks now begins well before a border crossing is attempted, in many cases, and requires the collation of information far from the point of entry. Border management was once rooted in bricksand-mortar infrastructure: the roads, airports and shipping facilities that permitted international movement. More recently, the growing importance of intangible assets has further muddied the issue of border management. International data flows constitute an ever-growing portion of the economic value that moves between countries. Likewise, assets such as software, algorithms, cryptocurrencies and 3D-printing blueprints can be effectively transferred from one national jurisdiction to another without ever interacting with the agencies responsible for governing their analogue counterparts. Through cross-border data flows, 3D printing could be used to create illegal and dangerous goods (for example, weapons), or to replicate a critically needed piece of medical equipment that would have normally been subject
2
Reimagining a Canadian National Security Strategy
to an import process and potential duties and taxes. To what degree this should be thought of as a “border” issue is an open question. In light of the evolving security context, the Government of Canada must exercise foresight to identify the governance tools, technologies and infrastructure needed to address challenges on the near horizon. While the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) remains central, it is clear that many contemporary border security issues are not within its mandate. For example, technological change, along with the extension of risk assessment beyond the immediate time and place of transit, has ensnared a myriad of government departments and agencies at the national and provincial levels into various aspects of border management. Nongovernmental actors in the private sector have likewise taken on expanded roles in certain border issues. A new Canadian national security strategy will need to clarify where responsibility and leadership for different border security issues lie. The time is now ripe for a strategic review of border policy and an updated strategic vision of Canadian border security.
Health Security The Threat and the Role of Health at the Border Health has always been an issue for border management. It is one factor considered in determining who may enter the country and assessing applications for immigration to Canada. The CBSA works with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to manage responses to health security risks. Likewise, the CBSA collaborates with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure the protection of food, plants and animals. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic is qualitatively different than past experiences. Previous outbreaks (for example, severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], Ebola, H1N1 and mad cow disease) were far more limited in extent and duration and did not result in such an extensive closure of border traffic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have been unthinkable for the border to have remained closed to all but essential traffic for such a length of time.
