CHRISTA BOYD
St. Catharines,Canada
Summary
Experienced with policy research and analysis, ensuring data-driven and evidence-based recommendations. Utilizes advanced analytical methods to assess implications of public policies. Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and legislative processes.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Policy Analyst EC-05
Canada Border Services Agency
07.2023 - Current
- In my current role as a policy analyst, I produce researched policy and position papers to support policy and legislative framework proposals concerning the facilitation of travellers and goods at the Canadian border.
- I have led policy papers on border mobility challenges experienced by Indigenous travellers, impacts of border processes on various social groups involving multiple Acts of legislation, and implementing a bi-national border program which addressed shared interests of security at the northern border.
- Throughout my 17-year career with CBSA, the cross-departmental relationships I developed have enabled me to streamline my information gathering with subject matter experts which contributes to document accuracy.
- I provide analytical support to develop and present policy positions to key stakeholders particularly the assistant deputy minister, deputy minister, executive vice president, Privy Council Office and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
- My policy analysis focuses on the legislative impacts under the Customs Act, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Preclearance Act, 2016, and the bi-national treaty Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine, and Air Transport Preclearance between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America.
- To stay informed about parliamentary activities related to my files, I monitor media publications, House of Commons bills, standing committee meetings, and Hansard publications.
- This awareness enables me to contribute to file workplans and maintain critical path documents to support stakeholders’ and senior managements’ understanding of file progress.
- Leveraging my experience with agency communications, I spearheaded the development of communication plans to announce policy file progress internally and externally in a timely manner.
- I have experience developing Memorandum to Cabinet and leading the drafting of annexes and ministerial recommendations which supports policy proposals for border programs.
- I work closely with agency colleagues in finance, infrastructure, Indigenous affairs, and operational programs to conduct costing exercises, prepare budget submissions and assess the proposal’s impact on Indigenous communities.
- To mitigate potential risks associated with policy changes, I consult with the Department of Justice - CBSA legal services unit to obtain legal opinions and risk assessments for the agency in the event legislative or regulatory amendments proceed.
- With ten years of experience as a border services officer, I have a deep understanding of operational processes and administering various Acts of legislation.
- This allows me to assess the impact of policy proposals on frontline staff and make recommendations to the assistant deputy minister, deputy minister, Privy Council Office and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness regarding the feasibility of operationalizing these policies, legislation, or regulations at the Agency.
- To further support my research and policy papers, I participated in a Future Border Coalition conference with management which discussed U.S.- Canada border issues with industry leaders in trade and travel.
- Mentored junior analysts, fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional development within the team.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure compliance with national security policies and protocols.
- Improved policy effectiveness by conducting comprehensive research and analysis on various issues.
- Participated in industry conferences and workshops as a subject matter expert to stay current on emerging trends in public policy analysis.
- Built strong relationships with internal departments for effective collaboration within the organization for policymaking purposes.
- Developed policy briefs that summarized key findings from research activities, highlighting implications for future action and providing actionable recommendations for decisionmakers.
Senior Program Officer
Canada Border Services Agency
12.2022 - 07.2023
- As a senior program officer in the Traveller Transformation Directorate, I applied a decade of frontline experience as a border services officer (BSO) to the development of business requirements, user stories and user interface designs for a traveller processing system.
- This project was part of the Government of Canada’s Budget 2021 and required legislative amendments to the Customs Act by Budget 2023.
- I actively engaged in internal working groups to gather input and recommendations from colleagues across departments, including BSOs.
- In 2023, I completed a Corporate Programs certificate in Project Management Essentials through Algonquin College to broaden my project knowledge.
- This learning empowered me to play a key role in identifying and formulating project risk and issue statements and led the intake of risk assessments from project team colleagues.
- I prepared the documentary artifacts for the gating plan submission to Treasury Board Secretariat which gained project sponsor (Director General), Assistant Deputy Minister and Deputy Minister endorsement through various levels of Agency governance.
- My experience and educational background in information management empowered me to oversee the secure and proper storage of divisional project documentation.
- This assured the project sponsor that items in CBSA’s corporate digital repository were accessible during potential project audits.
- In my role, I facilitated on-going and open dialogue with project schedulers, Agency business owners, team members and governance units to ensure efficient task completion.
- I valued the positive relationships with project colleagues which contributed to the project’s success in obtaining the necessary gating approvals from the project sponsor and Assistant Deputy Minister.
- I followed change management strategies to engage stakeholders, and end-users, in an effective way and focused these interactions with the use of plain and inclusive language.
- I considered the intersectionality components of the proposed processing system across various travel modes and collaborated with the Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Centre of Responsibility at the CBSA for additional guidance.
- When the project team expanded in fiscal 2023-2024, it fostered more cross-team collaboration within the division, which aligned well with my preferred working style.
- Supported new business development efforts by contributing subject matter expertise during client pitches or proposal writing processes.
- Developed and executed comprehensive program plans, achieving timely completion of milestones.
Program Officer (at-level assignment)
Canada Border Services Agency
07.2019 - 12.2021
- Throughout this at-level assignment, I played a key role in nationalizing the information management program.
- As one of the first regional employees within the policy and business integration team, I conducted my work remotely from my team in Ottawa in the Southern Ontario Region.
- My regional perspective and knowledge of the creation and storage of operational documents allowed me to develop engagement strategies tailored to frontline, regional and corporate information management functions.
- Upon the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, I collaborated with information technology colleagues during the launch of Microsoft Teams Agency-wide which facilitated employees to transition to a safer remote work environment.
- I organized virtual training sessions with Microsoft specialists, created functional guidance materials and provided customized training based on departmental requests.
- My contributions helped employees quickly adopt new software and remain connected to colleagues, which was crucial for the Agency to continue conducting business during the pandemic.
- I coordinated a national and regional engagement initiative with divisional colleagues (Environmental Scan of Agency Records) and conducting the virtual secretariat role for the national working group for a year.
- This initiative enabled the regional information advisors to establish an inventory of physical information holdings at CBSA facilities and ports of entry under their purview.
- I led the development of training plans, communication products, and program guidelines to address knowledge gaps and process discrepancies identified during the initiative.
- Additionally, I developed web content for divisional intranet pages with the objective of increasing employees’ awareness of their information management responsibilities and was the first client to produce content for the intranet modernization project at CBSA.
- I gained the Executive Director’s endorsement to draft and circulate regular written products and present virtual 'knowledge transfer sessions' to all divisional colleagues via Teams.
- This regular engagement contributed to improved awareness of program objectives and consistency in the implementation of information management processes.
- It was particularly effective as the team grew quickly and spanned the 7 CBSA regions.
- To further my education, I completed the Information and Records Management Program at the University of Toronto – Continuing Studies and obtained the credential of certified records analyst with The Institute of Certified Records Managers in 2021.
- My enthusiasm for continuing education further empowered me to develop new standard operating procedures for retention and disposition of physical documents.
- I established an advisors’ working group to collaborate with peers to discuss and address the respective regional challenges when implementing the latest information management processes.
- Additionally, I completed a certificate in Leadership Essentials through McMaster University’s Continuing Education program in 2021 and this new skillset allowed me gain management’s support to mentor junior colleagues.
- I emphasized the importance of identifying the specific business processes responsibilities of clients to provide the best recommendations or solutions to meet their information management needs or challenges.
- I composed the benefits realization plan as part of the Gate 3 artefacts for a project proposal for digital workplaces.
- I had consistently produced high-quality project documentation, which led to management entrusting me with managing the plans through future gates.
- In 2021, I completed a change practitioner certification through PROSCI Inc. which enhanced my ability to facilitate client engagement discussions and workshops with frontline officers.
- After the workshops, senior divisional colleagues commented positively on my effective oral communication, presentation skills, and my ability to successfully connect operational knowledge within information management in a frontline environment.
Armed - Designated Border Services Officer, FB-03
Canada Border Services Agency
08.2008 - 12.2021
- I completed the Port of Entry Recruit Training (POERT) program in Rigaud, Quebec in 2008 to become a designated officer, and the Control and Defense Tactics and Firearms Training in Chilliwack, British Columbia in 2009.
- I was initially assigned to commercial land mode operations at a port of entry in the Southern Ontario region where I conducted pre-arrival risk assessments of commercial import declarations through the electronic database, validated and endorsed physical permits and carnets, and addressed discrepancies in documentation where legislative non-compliance was suspected through examination techniques using detection technology and K-9 search interventions.
- I conducted thorough admissibility and eligibility interviews of foreign national and domestic travellers and their goods, through various modes of transportation.
- On a daily basis, my responsibilities included; administering legislation governing the admissibility of people and goods, plants and animals into and out of Canada by interviewing travellers; enforcing policy and legislation by seizing goods, applying fees and penalties in non-compliance, issuing verbal and written warnings; interdicting illegal goods (controlled drugs and substances, weapons and currency), conducting frisks and personal searches and using breathalyser technology to assess traveller intoxication, detaining or arresting travellers posing a threat to Canada; protecting food safety, plant and animal health by evaluating their risk to Canada's domestic resources through physical and documentary examination; and administering trade legislation and agreements to meet Canada's international obligations.
- I applied my legislative authorities under the Customs Act, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulations, Food, Plant & Animal Act, Health of Animals Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Criminal Code of Canada and a multitude of other federal laws.
- My clear and concise notetaking enabled the CBSA recourse directorate to uphold multiple appeals from travellers and importers.
- I collaborated with other government departments and stakeholders at the port entry such as Health Canada, Canada Food Inspection Agency (veterinarians/inspectors) and Transport Canada during on-site projects and examinations which enhanced my critical thinking skills and working knowledge of agency mandates.
- Management selected me to visit to the National Import Service Centre for CFIA and shadowed an officer assessing regulated food, plant, and animal commodities for import.
- My operational experience with the Automated Import Reference System facilitated discussions with CFIA colleagues and improved my knowledge in assessing import requirements at the border.
- In traveller land mode, I interviewed persons entering or returning to Canada and validated their declarations through personal search and vehicle examinations, as required.
- I assessed immigration applications for temporary and permanent residents and conducted thorough interviews and developed files for refugee claimants; at times using interpreter services.
- I assisted the enforcement liaison officer by reviewing all refugee claimant case files to help alleviate their workload.
- Before the Agency could forward the files to the Immigration Refugee Board in Canada for further assessment, I conducted a thorough examination of each applicants’ file.
- My objective was to validate the case for accuracy and completeness by identifying discrepancies related to legislative statutes, applicant’s biographical data or flag missing or erroneous documentary evidence.
- My superintendants noted their appreciation associated to my careful and detailed review of each file.
- As an active member of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee, and secretary for 2 years, the Chief endorsed my consultation with both regional and municipal transportation representatives to address officer safety and pedestrian crossing concerns near the port of entry.
- Additionally, I engaged bridge commission employees to discuss officer safety concerns in examination rooms and determined the reconfiguration of furniture, relocation of information technology and communication connections was required.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology
Brock University
St. Catharines, ON09.2025
Post-Degree Certificate with High Honours - Wellness & Lifestyle Management
Centennial College
Scarborough, ON04.1999
Bachelor of Arts - Community Health
Brock University
St. Catharines, ON04.1998
Year 1 Studies - Bachelor of Arts
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON04.1996
Skills
- Quantitative analysis
- Policy evaluation
- Qualitative analysis
- Economic analysis
- Evaluating legislation
- Legislative review
- Information verification
- Collaborative relationships
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Adaptability and flexibility
Certification
- [Area of certification] Training - [Timeframe]
Timeline
Policy Analyst EC-05
Canada Border Services Agency
07.2023 - Current
Senior Program Officer
Canada Border Services Agency
12.2022 - 07.2023
Program Officer (at-level assignment)
Canada Border Services Agency
07.2019 - 12.2021
Armed - Designated Border Services Officer, FB-03
Canada Border Services Agency
08.2008 - 12.2021
Post-Degree Certificate with High Honours - Wellness & Lifestyle Management
Centennial College
Bachelor of Arts - Community Health
Brock University
Year 1 Studies - Bachelor of Arts
University of Waterloo
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology
Brock University
Specialized Certifications
- Certificate in Project Management Essentials, Algonquin College - Corporate Training, 2023-05-01
- Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, Prosci Inc., 2021-03-01
- Certificate in Leadership Essentials, McMaster University - Continuing Education, 2020-01-01, 2021-12-31
- Certificate in Information and Records Management Program, University of Toronto - School of Continuing Studies, 2019-01-01, 2021-12-31, Certified Records Analyst Designation - Institute of Certified Records Managers
Essential Education
Bachelor of Arts in Community Health Studies, Brock University, 1998-04-01