ACI eManifest Forum - A Big Success

On February 6th, 2013, Pacific Customs Brokers and ABC Customs Brokers hosted a very successful ACI eManifest Forum with the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and various industry partners and stakeholders. This event was attended by over 160 importers, carriers, customs brokers and freight forwarders. Pacific Customs Brokers and ABC Customs Brokers would like to extend a sincere thank you to all attendees and specifically, to the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and industry panelists who participated.

Highlights Of The ACI eManifest Forum:

Presenting at the forum was key note speaker James J. Spina, eManifest Directorate, Senior Program Advisor with the  Canada Border Services Agency.

Following the very informative presentation by James J. Spina was a panel discussion and town hall meeting.

Representing The Expert Panel: 

• James Spina, Senior Project Advisor of the CBSA's eManifest Directorate
• Jan Brock, Chief of Commercial Operations, Pacific Highway District
• Nerissa Allen, Western Area Import Coordinator for the BC Coastal Region of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Representing The Trade Industry Panel:

• Greg Kolesniak, the Director of Policy for the B.C. Trucking Association. The BCTA represents 1034 members.
• Paul Courtney, the Western Region Chair of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association
• Greg Holmes, Director and Immediate Past President of the BC Produce Marketing Association. This organization represents 150 members in BC and 750 members nationally.
• Joseph Liu, representing the BC Division of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers. This organization represent 160 Customs Brokers.
• Daniel Kiselbach, Partner and National Leader of the International Trade Group for the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters. I.E. Canada represents several thousand importers and exporters.
• Dave Bucholtz, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Pacific Customs Brokers and ABC Customs Brokers

Also in attendance were many senior CBSA officers from the Pacific Highway District.

Moderated by Greg Timm, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Pacific Customs Brokers, the panel discussion delved into a great many issues that have come to light with the advent of the ACI eManifest program. Many insightful questions were asked by all members of the industry panel, and audience questions were read in by the Pacific Customs Brokers staff.

While both CBSA and CFIA were able to provide answers to most questions, there were some issues raised that are still under review. In addition, we received an overwhelming number of inquiries from attendees. Due to time constraints, we were unable to ask all of these questions but we are reviewing them and will endeavor to provide answers as soon as possible.

Please be sure to check back here in the coming weeks for a list of questions asked and the corresponding answers. As always, if you have any questions regarding the ACI eManifest program, contact Pacific Customs Brokers and we'll assist you in anyway we can.

5 Frequently Asked Questions About ACI eManifest | Part 1