CBSA workers rally at Ambassador Bridge
A rally was held at the Ambassador Bridge Wednesday in support of Canadian Border Service Agency officers.
Canada Border Services Agency workers protested as they’ve been without a contract for three years, and could take job action Friday — three days before fully vaccinated U.S. citizens will be able to visit Canada without having to quarantine for two weeks.
“Eighteen years I’ve been with CBSA and I’ve worked very few days with an actual contract unfortunately,” says CBSA officer Alex Hoffman, who was one of hundreds who attended the rally.
“We just walked around here holding signs making some noise. Your typical rally I suppose.”
There are approximately 500 CBSA workers at the Windsor-Detroit land border. The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its Customs and Immigration Union warns the public to expect long lineups and lengthy delays should job action take place.
“This is actually going to be the one moment where the public might like us,” says Hoffman. “We’re not gonna be collecting taxes on purchases.”
But essential services would continue, such as maintaining security at the border.
CBSA says they expect officers will continue to fulfill their duties with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.
The union has three demands for their employer:
- Address discrimination and workplace violence
- Salary parity with other law enforcement
- Telework
“There’s a bunch of people who couldn’t work during this pandemic at the office but there was a lot of positions they could’ve actually worked from home but there’s no setup. We want this in our contract,” says Hoffman.
The two sides returned to the bargaining table Wednesday, with the Treasury Board of Canada telling CTV Windsor:
“The Government of Canada’s goal is to take constructive steps to advance negotiations. The government has never walked away from these negotiations and remains available at the bargaining table.
Mark Weber, President of the Customs and Immigration Union, expects negotiations to carry on past this evening.
“The Treasury Board has put a new negotiator in place so we’re hopeful that will move things forward,” Weber says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.