07.05.2024 Border officers relied on outdated intel to decide whether to search incoming vessels, audit warns
Containers are unloaded at the Port of Montreal in Montreal on July 20, 2017. The Canada Border Services Agency and the Port of Montreal are dipping their feet into a blockchain-powered technology that aims to streamline freight shipping and cut costs. In a trial run, the federal customs agency and the country's second-biggest port have signed on to the digital database -- a distributed ledger that shares and syncs up data from carriers, ports and wholesalers in places from Singapore to Peru.

The risk assessments border officers have used for years to decide whether vessels entering Canadian waters should be searched have been based on outdated and inaccurate data, increasing the risk of high-risk goods and inadmissible people slipping into the country, a recently released audit says.

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