agent de programme

program officer

programmer analyst

business services officer

software engineer

Canada Border Services Agency

CBSA loves to hype itself as an employer of choice, and there's no doubt it's an interesting job at times, depending on where you work. I used to love it, but then found it increasingly frustrating as the job got more bureaucratic and less self-directed. 

A lot depends on where you work. People in small ports of entry often find themselves liking the slow pace and rural atmosphere, but young officers, eager to make seizures and arrests, can be frustrated. Air Traffic (talking to passengers) seems to have the most unhappy campers, followed by land border traffic. Busy ports mean lots of work, but you also learn very quickly.

A big problem for a mature applicant: The cadet pay allowance. When you're hired today, unlike in my time, you don't get an actual salary until you graduate the training program in Quebec, which runs at almost four months now. You do get a stipend to see you through, and all meals and accomodation are paid, but if you're carrying a mortgage, you're going to need to talk to your bank. And don't be surprised if that stipend doesn't show for weeks. I've heard horror stories.

The money trouble doesn't end when you report for your first shift. Heard of the Phoenix system? Be prepared for screw-ups when you change assignments, go on leave, act in another role, etc. 

Here's some things you'll probably have to deal with, if you work in a big, busy port like I did:

-Roadtimes. Think you like talking to people? You might change your mind when you have to ask 60 cars an hour the exact same questions.
-Paperwork: Immigration duties generate the most, but anything enforcement related can keep you at the computer for hours. Refugee claims are the absolute worst.
-Negativity: Lots of people will hate you, and that negative attitude can be reflected in the way you look at life. Humour, usually the dark variety, is your best defence.
-Politics: Expect to see bosses take a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude. Expect policies whose main role is to cover HQ's butt. Again, it's hard not to get cynical.
-Violence: It's a fact of the job, so get used to it. Take your use of force training seriously, get a range membership, and use the 1000 rounds a year they give you for practice. You WILL deal with violent people, and some of them WILL try to hurt you.
-Other Bad Things: You may have to look at some awful pornography. You may strip search people looking for drugs and money. Some of those people will be frankly disgusting. You may have to listen to sex offenders tell you "she asked for it", (without punching them-it's hard) and other things that people of a sensitive disposition should avoid.
Scrutiny: Everyone's got a camera, and a lot of them want to catch you screwing up. If you wouldn't do it in front of a judge, you can't do it, period.

Good stuff? Nobody dozes off when you tell them what you do. It can be a very interesting job. In my career, I dealt with pretty much every kind of case imaginable, drugs, terrorism, gangs, weapons, robbery, you name it. I really used to enjoy to going to work.

But you will get frustrated if you want a more "policing" style environment. CBSA is run by career bureaucrats, civilians, who don't really want to be police chiefs. If you think CBSA is equivalent to getting an RCMP or other police job, think again. At best, you can use it as a stepping stone. At worst, it's a dead end. 

I think this job is best for people who want a "law enforcement lite" type job. People who really want to be cops should skip this step unless there's nothing else available at the moment. People in their early 20's, with no real financial commitments, who want an interesting job with limited potential for chaos will probably be more comfortable here. The pay and benefits are really good, the uniforms are cool, yeah, there's a gun and a badge, and you will have some interesting stories. But if you really want to spend your days chasing bad guys I think you should go somewhere else.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexible working schedule for many non-port of entry enforcement roles, generally a good team environment and fun, rewarding work. The work you do has an impact on the safety and security of Canadians.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Often working with managers that are at best indifferent, at worst, bullying or playing favorites, especially at ports of entry roles. Training opportunities and tools to make you better at your job are at the whims of government budget processes. Some programs suffer from lack of understanding by senior managers in Ottawa.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Highly dependent on where you are and what role you are in. At a small port, with good people, the environment can be very good. At a large port, with poor management and weak union stewardship, you can have a terrible time. If you are favored by a manager, you will have an easy time, often at the expense of your colleagues, and your soul. If you focus on your work and service to Canadians, you will retain your soul but often miss opportunities for growth and ways to maximize your impact.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
In my role it is usually very quiet, doing a lot of work that can be done remotely but must be done in office for no other reason than the Treasury Board wants staff back in the office. Case research and investigative steps can take a long time, so the day to day is making minute, gradual progress in moving a file forward.

As an administrative clerk you will have your structured hours of work, shift work applicable sometimes, however, you have the opportunity to work overtime shifts on evenings and weekends as required and based on your preference. Your workload is usually moderate in volume and you have plenty of time to get your work done during the day. Many senior executives will as for additional help even if they are from another unit or department, this is based on availability and if there is a shortage of clerks.

Management style is very structured as well with an organizational chart in place for reporting hierarchy. As a clerk, you have supervisors and they report to assistant directors. Your job is to assist both as well as other staff as required. 

You are given a brief overview of your job role by being trained by another clerk. Full breakdown and classification of all administrative staff is very much needed in this workplace. Whatever you learn, you inherit and continue to do even though you move to another department. Work can find you wherever you go. 

Colleagues are usually helpful but you have to go through a lot of preapprovals to get any help from other people. 

As a clerk, there isn't a anything too difficult as long as you're smart, work diligently and very well independently. You have to be willing to adapt to high paced, high volume and client service environment.

Where to start? I was lied to. I was told that the position would be a permanent one. But it was a lie. My manager, a person who could barely write correctly in either languages made sure that after only 2 months of work that all the little errors that I made during my learning curve were a bad sign and that I wasn t assimilating them properly. Yeah... Right I was only there for 2 months. So I worked really hard, doing overtime focusing more on my performance and much much less on talking to clients and colleagues. A month later my performance truly improved to the point where that very manager had me in her office to congratulate me on my efforts. Then one month later i received an extra income. I was curious if it were my 4%. I asked them and their response was simply"No"
2 days before the " renewal" of my contract they told me that they couldn't keep me!!! The NERVE! Having given me false hopes when they knew that I wasn t going to be kept for the position. Supposedly the head office in Ottawa made "a mistake" I don t mind getting fired but the very least I expected was HONESTY. And sadly I got none. I felt like I was a dirty rag that was just thrown away after usage. I am grateful however for this experience, but you need to be lucky and have a manager that will also be a mentor if not FORGET IT!

A typical day at my workplace would involve reading and responding to various e-mails from staff, management and other clients, mentoring staff and responding to their needs on a work and personal level. In addition, during the last three years of my tenure, I was very busy scheduling, developing and facilitating one-day workshops on values, ethics and the Code of Conduct for the CBSA.
The things I learned were around communication and listening skills, as well as how to time and stress manage effectively. I headed a Division of Senior Ethics Advisors. They were all highly educated in their chosen field of study and were all extremely passionate about what they did, and what they hoped to achieve. They were hard workers and dedicated to the job. The hardest part of the job, for me, was trying to help clients who were often highly emotional, angry or upset, without taking on their troubles personally and carrying them home with me. Conversely, the most enjoyable part of my job was facilitating a session and having the material I was delivering really mean something to, and help, the participants in the room.

Contract position
Typical day involved all administrative duties for the section including  accounts payable, employee travel claims, database updates, required reports, uniform ordering/returning for Border Officers and ensuring uniform database maintained;  ordering supplies.
Learned that keeping daily operations up to date resulted in all inquiries/requests were met on a timely basis and resulted in happy working environment.
Management was available for any guidance required other than regular daily expectations.
Co-workers and management were extremely easy to work with and showed respect and considerations at all time.  If any problems occurred a co-worker would take the initiative to explain what was required.
The hardest part of the job was not being involved with the improper import of goods upon inspections.
The most enjoyable part of the job was the direct dealing with all employees including management.

I really enjoyed working at Canada Border Services Agency. The unit I worked with was great and were always there to lend a hand if I needed help or had any questions. I learned many knew things involving procurement and assets while helping out co-workers during the temporary absence of one co-worker. My manager was very nice and laid-back, and she made a point to address anyone's concerns whenever there were issues. She was always on top of things if something needed resolving immediately. There wasn't really any hard part to my job as I worked in the mailroom and the work load was pretty easily manageable. What I enjoyed most about working in the mailroom at CBSA is that I would always have something different to do and I would be able to deliver mail throughout the entire office and meet with many different co-workers.

Each day I was able to process hundreds of passengers from all over the world.  I learned many interesting things about many different cultures.  Over the years I became very good at detecting both honesty and deception.  I followed all leads and accumulated all evidence that proved a passengers guilt or innocence.  I had officer discretion which allowed me to release or perform an enforcement action on a passenger after uncovering an infraction.  I am fair and treat all passengers I encounter in the same manner.  I learned that being consistent, thorough, organized and systematic in my notes and reports made me one of the most recognized officers for having successful and uncontested cases from start to finish.  My co-workers provided both experience and assistance when I needed it.

Hi all, I was wondering whats the hiring process time for CBSA and is the fitness test for CBSA officers as hard as becoming a police in Ontario? I applied with them back in 2006 and finally heard back in march of 2012 saying I was selected, however I haven't heard back at all. I decided to call them today and was told that my application from the old process is no longer good I need to submit a new to due to change of hiring rules. I am also currently enrolled at Trios completing the Police foundation course and have completed my firearms and CPR. So I again submitted a new app. Whats my wait time like before I hear back. I truly want this job its a dream job for me ever since my childhood. any feedback will help. Thanks, kay.

Every Port of Entry is different. Airport is more inclusive. Windsor, more young people, better Union representation, interesting things, management more supportive.Sarnia, alot of new employees, too many are local and have a narrow-minded, misogynistic attitudes - it is like High School, but instead of class together, you share working hours and duties - not everyone falls into this description, but I would say far more than half of all the people who work there do. Alot of either under-educated or over-educated younger employees. Also, Sarnia's local Union is very poorly managed and gives the entire Union a bad rep.

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