The auditor general finds the $800-million CARM customs system so flawed that agents use workarounds

Staff time lost to workarounds each year

92,000 hours

Staff developed at least 38 manual workarounds, some relying on the old systems CARM was meant to replace. They take about 92,000 hours of employee time a year.

Help requests

4 000 unresolved by June 2026 19 000 requests a month, on average

The Canada Border Services Agency gets an average of 19,000 requests for help a month. By June 2026 the backlog was 4,000, and some took more than 500 days to resolve.

And us?

CARM, launched in October 2024, handles the collection of duties on commercial imports, worth $42 billion in 2024-25. The U.S. Trade Representative has flagged it as a trade barrier.