Canada border guards to on strike ahead of opening for U.S. tourists

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Canadian border guards and customs officials voted on Tuesday to go on strike just days before fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into Canada, unions representing the workers said, a move that could potentially cause disruptions and hurt businesses emerging out of the pandemic-driven economic downturn.

A strike would slow down commercial traffic at the land border, the unions said, as well as impact international mail and collection of duties and taxes. But a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said 90 per cent of the front-line border services officers have been identified as “essential” so will continue to work in the event of a strike.

Last week, Canada announced plans to allow fully vaccinated Americans on Aug. 9, and fully vaccinated international travellers starting on Sept. 7. The border has been shut for non-essential travel for more than 16 months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) said in a joint statement that strike action could begin as soon as Aug. 6 after 8,500 members voted in favour of the action. Contract talks reached an impasse in December 2020, the unions said.

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was the fifth-largest industry in Canada, contributing C$105 billion ($83.4 billion) to the GDP and providing one in ten jobs, according to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice president of national affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said a strike would compound issues faced by small businesses throughout the pandemic – slow shipping times, lack of customers, rising costs.

“It’s not favourable at all for a lot of small businesses relying on either goods coming across the border or people coming across the border,” Pohlmann said, calling the timing of the strike “extremely unfortunate.”

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