Canadian border agency wants international flyers with stopovers in Canada to skip customs

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has started a 30-day consultation period on a proposed change that would let international travellers arriving at Canadian airports skip their CBSA check-in before leaving Canada for another destination.

The initiative is called the Free Flow International-to-International Transit process or ITI. The CBSA says the change “would continue to ensure a high level of security while providing travellers with a more efficient transit process.”

The proposed change would require airlines to collect additional information on passengers, including their final destination and the date and time of their arrival into Canada. Airlines would then share this information with the CBSA.

“This would allow the CBSA to confirm that travellers have left Canada on their scheduled international flight,” the agency said in a press release.

The change is part of the government’s Red Tape Review , which was launched in July. It calls on federal departments and agencies to review their regulations, including how they are administered, with the aim of removing duplication between agencies, streamlining inefficient or complicated processes and paperwork, and allowing new products, services or technologies into the Canadian market.

“These proposed regulatory changes enable the CBSA to make its processes more efficient and services more effective, while maintaining the strength and security of our borders,” the agency said.

The proposed changes have been published in the Canada Gazette , and the CBSA plans to collect feedback between now and Dec. 29.

The idea is not new. In 2018, the CBSA launched a similar ITI pilot project, which is currently operating at airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Last year some 744,000 passengers were processed this way, up from 737,000 the year before.

“Under the ITI pilot project, travellers transiting internationally through Canada disembark from their inbound flight, scan their passport at an ITI-specific kiosk, and proceed directly to the international departures area,” the agency said. “Documentary requirements remain unchanged; transiting travellers must hold the proper immigration authorization to transit through Canada, including a Temporary Resident Visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization.”

However, the proposed change eliminates the need for either a CBSA officer or a kiosk, since the airline would have already provided information to the CBSA.

“Such a model would improve the economic competitiveness of Canadian airports as transit hubs and improve Canadian airlines’ access to the transit market,” the agency said, adding: “It will allow the CBSA to maintain the safety and security of our border by shifting frontline resources away from known transiting travellers and towards higher-risk activities.”

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