page_title: Canada Border Services Agency
section_title: Border Services Officers
hierarchical_section_title: Canada Border Services Agency / Operations / Border Services Officers
caption_attribution_description: English: Canadian customs declaration
context_page_description: The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control, immigration enforcement, and customs services in Canada. The CBSA is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
  The Agency was created on December 12, 2003, by an order-in-council that amalgamated the customs function of the now-defunct Canada Customs and Revenue Agency; the enforcement function of Citizenship and Immigration Canada; and the port-of-entry examination function of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The CBSA's creation was formalized by the Canada Border Services Agency Act, which received Royal Assent on November 3, 2005.
  The CBSA oversees approximately 1,200 service locations across Canada, and 39 in other countries. It employs over 14,000 public servants and offers 24-hour service at 117 of its land border crossings and at 13 international airports.
context_section_description: A Border Services Officer (BSO) is a federal law enforcement officer employed by the Canada Border Services Agency. While "Border Services Officer" is the overarching term for the CBSA's front-line personnel, it is actually not a title derived from legislation. Rather, BSOs receive multiple legislative designations such as "Customs Officer" under the Customs Act; "Immigration Officer" under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and "Screening Officer" under the Quarantine Act. When enforcing customs- or immigration-related legislation, BSOs are Peace Officers under the Criminal Code of Canada. However, they can only make arrests for offences under the Criminal Code if they are appointed as "designated officers" by the Minister of Public Safety under the Customs Act (section 163.4) and are at customs offices performing the normal duties of an officer or in accordance with Section 99.1 of the Customs Act.
  Currently, BSOs are equipped with handcuffs, pepper spray, batons, and Beretta PX4 Storm pistols. The arming initiative began in 2007 and officially concluded in 2016. BSOs are trained at the CBSA College, located in Rigaud, Quebec. The training begins with a 4-week online program called the "Pre-OITP," followed by an 18-week program called the CBSA Officer Induction Training Program (OITP) which covers a range of topics from law (such as criminal law, immigration and customs legislation) to control and defensive tactics.
caption: Canadian customs declaration
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