Entry/Exit PIA – Executive Summary for Website

Once fully implemented, the Entry/Exit initiative will allow the Canada Border Services Agency to collect biographic information on all travellers to and from Canada at the land border and in air mode. As a project partner, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (the Department) uses entry/exit information to assist with the administration of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Citizenship Act, and the Passport Order. The sharing of information between the Agency and the Department is authorized by the Customs Act and governed by a Memorandum of Understanding and four appendices.

The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) examined the process by which the Department will access and use personal information collected by the Canada Border Services Agency, to enhance the management of the following lines of business: Temporary Resident Program; Permanent Resident Program; Citizenship Program; Refugee Program; and, Travel Document Program.

The PIA confirmed the following:

• The overarching program and policy objectives for the use of this data for each of the above programs;
• The existing legislative and regulatory authorities for the Department to collect, use, disclose, retain and dispose of entry/exit information;
• The Department’s information technology solution to enable access to and protection of the entry/exit data held by the Agency;
• The process for the disclosure of this data to authorized users; and,
• The retention and disposal of this data by the Department.

The PIA noted potential privacy risks related to the retention, access, and security of information collected, for which mitigation strategies were identified, including:

• Ensuring that procedures related to retention and disposal of information are clearly established;
• Employment of user accounts, access rights and security authorizations to limit access to only those that require it;
• Using encryption and other security tools to protect files that are shared.

The Canada Border Services Agency has also undertaken a PIA on the Entry/Exit Program, which addresses the privacy impacts of the core Program.