Question Period Note: Roxham Road and Saint-Bernard-de-la-Colle

Recent La Presse article regarding the Roxham Road crossing and the Saint-Bernard-de-la-Colle port of entry, in which the CBSA spends $3M annually for the processing and accommodation infrastructure for asylum seekers.

• A sole source contract was placed with Importations Guay Ltée for the lease of land and buildings in Lacolle, Quebec, from 2017-2022. It was necessary to proceed quickly to accommodate an influx of refugee claimants at the border.

• This site was selected because of its proximity to the irregular border crossing at Roxham Road and other sites used by the CBSA (the port of entry), which makes operations more efficient.

• The leases on the existing temporary trailers are expiring in 2022, so the CBSA is renovating its leased facilities in Lacolle in order to save money and benefit from efficiencies through the consolidation of operations into two buildings instead of several different buildings.

• The CBSA spends $3M per year for the processing and accommodation infrastructure for asylum seekers located in Saint-Bernard-de-la-Colle, Quebec, which includes all leases. The redevelopment of the site represents an anticipated $1.1 million saving annually.

• The CBSA worked with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to ensure that the costs associated with the project were in line with market prices and represented a good return on investment.
 

The Lacolle Regional Processing Centre (RPC) is undergoing renovations to better meet the operational needs of the CBSA. The RPC will go from being a decentralized group of temporary buildings and winterized temporary facilities to two fixed buildings that CBSA will use for a variety of purposes; initially they will be used to process refugee claimants. Besides processing refugee seekers, the CBSA could use these buildings in the future as training facilities, or a warehouse for archives or seized goods.

The buildings are leased from M. Guay/Industries Guay Limitée (IGL). These buildings are part of the CBSA’s contingency plan, which addresses the potential that there are increased numbers of people crossing into Canada between ports.

The Lacolle RPC was developed in 2017 in response to the unprecedented volumes of refugee claimants coming to Canada between ports of entry. Under emergency contracts, the RPC (composed of four temporary facilities, winterized tents, a building previously used as a restaurant and a storage section) was used as temporary accommodations for refugee claimants.

The project will be built in phases over the next 8 to 10 months. The project will include the consolidation of operation into two buildings instead of several different buildings. The total cost of the project is estimated at $4.5 million. Renovations will take eight to ten months to complete and began in October 2021. The CBSA will have a five-year lease from April 1, 2022 (if the construction schedule is met).

The CBSA worked with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to ensure that the costs associated with the project were in line with market prices and represented a good return on investment.

The proximity of the buildings to the port of entry explains why an agreement was reached directly with the owner. The CBSA has conducted RPC operations there since 2017 and the current lease ends on March 31, 2022.

The CBSA spends $3M per year for the processing and accommodation infrastructure for asylum seekers located in Saint-Bernard-de-la-Colle, Quebec, which includes leases. The redevelopment of the site represents an anticipated saving of $1.1 million annually. This solution was therefore optimal for the efficiency of operations and sound management of public finances.

The savings will result from a reduction in the cost of the lease, and other factors such as:
• decrease in rental costs for temporary installations;
• reduced costs associated with maintenance, including transporting drinking water and wastewater by truck, as well as other services; and
• development of a more functional consolidated space.

The renovated facilities will also provide a better working environment to employees currently working in temporary infrastructures. Space rental costs will also remain lower than our current rental costs for temporary facilities and related services.

Prior to 2017
The CBSA was not leasing any buildings from Importations Guay Ltée prior to 2017. The processing of the asylum seekers was done in the old Lacolle commercial building that belongs to the CBSA.

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