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Helpful Places

Government of Canada – DTPR AI Register

AI-Assisted Compliance Scoring for Border Travellers

Border & Immigration · Risk Assessment & Triage

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Traveller data processed by the system involves personal information about individuals crossing the Canadian border. The exact data fields are not specified in the public register entry.
Run by
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Border & ImmigrationRisk Assessment & Triage

This system uses a series of machine-learning algorithms to help Canada Border Services Agency officers identify travellers who are likely to be compliant with border rules. It scores or ranks travellers based on indicators, and its outputs are intended to support — not replace — officer decisions at the border. The system is currently under development and is not yet in use.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Traveller data processed by the system involves personal information about individuals crossing the Canadian border. The exact data fields are not specified in the public register entry.

Processing

Classification & Prediction
  • A series of machine-learning algorithms classify or score travellers according to predicted compliance with border rules.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • The machine-learning algorithms predict or score traveller compliance from structured data. Border officers then use these indicators to inform their decisions — the AI advises rather than determines the outcome.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction
Identifiable data
  • The system outputs compliance indicators — scores or rankings — that border officers use as advisory signals when deciding how to process a traveller. These are recommendations, not automated decisions.

Run by

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
  • The Canada Border Services Agency is the federal department responsible for border control and customs enforcement in Canada. CBSA is deploying the Travellers Compliance Indicators system to assist its border officers.

Government of Canada AI and Algorithms Registry — TCI

Built by

Government of Canada
  • The system was developed by the Government of Canada, meaning the AI model and algorithms were built in-house rather than procured from an external vendor.

Government of Canada AI and Algorithms Registry — TCI

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Not available to me
  • The compliance indicators generated by this system are internal to CBSA and used exclusively by border officers. Travellers do not have direct access to their own indicator scores or rankings.
Available to the accountable organization
  • The compliance indicators and supporting data are available to CBSA officers and relevant Government of Canada personnel involved in border operations.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyTravellers have a right to know that AI-generated compliance indicators may influence how a border officer processes their case. The Government of Canada's proactive publication of this system in the AI and Algorithms Registry reflects a transparency commitment. Further detail on how to request information about the system may be sought through the Canada Border Services Agency's Access to Information and Privacy Office.
  • Right to a Human ReviewBorder officers retain full decision-making authority; the AI system produces indicators that assist officers rather than issuing automated determinations. Every traveller's case is reviewed by a human officer. If you believe a border decision affecting you was made in error, you may seek redress through the Canada Border Services Agency's complaints and review mechanisms.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmAlgorithmic profiling of border travellers based on compliance indicators may disproportionately flag individuals from certain demographic groups, creating discriminatory effects and chilling freedom of movement. The system processes personal information about people exercising the right to cross an international border, a context where errors carry serious consequences.Safeguard: The system is described as assisting — not replacing — border officers, preserving human decision-making authority on every case. As the system is still in development and not yet in production, design-phase mitigations such as bias testing and fairness audits should be implemented before deployment. No further mitigation details are disclosed in the public register entry.
  • Reputational harmInaccurate compliance scoring could unjustly label a traveller as non-compliant, damaging their reputation and causing unwarranted secondary screening or denial of entry.Safeguard: Border officers retain final decision authority, providing a human check against automated misclassification. The register notes the system is not yet in production; robust accuracy validation should be completed before live deployment. No specific accuracy thresholds or correction procedures are disclosed in the public register.