A strike by Canadian border workers that could cause slowdowns at U.S.-Canada border crossings has been put on hold to allow more time for negotiations with the federal government, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) union said.
The strike by more than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) workers was set to begin at 4 p.m. last Friday. PSAC and the government extended mediation talks until Wednesday.
CBSA personnel are represented by PSAC and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU).
“I’m hopeful we can reach a deal and avoid disruptions at Canada’s borders,” Mark Weber, CIU national president, said in a news release. “Our members are essential — protecting our borders, preventing auto theft and stopping illegal drugs and firearms from entering Canada — and they deserve a fair contract that treats them with respect and dignity in line with other law enforcement agencies across the country.”
RELATED: Canadian border agent strike looms as unions seek better pay, benefits
The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada said the government has “committed to remain at the table to continue negotiations.”
“To date, discussions have been productive, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that is fair and reasonable for members of the Border Services Group as quickly as possible,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Along with customs and immigration officers, CBSA personnel include intelligence officers, investigators and nonuniformed staff. Workers have been without a contract for over two years, union officials said.
Key issues PSAC and CIU are bargaining over include higher wages aligned with those of other law enforcement agencies across the country, flexible telework and remote work options, equitable retirement benefits, and stronger protections around discipline, technological change and hours of work, according to a release.
The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, with the value of trade in goods between the two countries totaling $774 billion in 2023.
Customs and immigration agents with the CBSA monitor more than 100 land border crossings across Canada, as well as airports and marine ports.
Officials for brokerage giant C.H. Robinson said if a border agent strike were to occur, the biggest disruption would be to cross-border trucking between Canada and the U.S.
“A border agent must physically be present to review the customs paperwork and scan the bar code on it,” Mike Burkhart, vice president for Canada at C.H. Robinson, recently told FreightWaves. “We manage more than 650,000 shipments across the Canadian border a year, so we can say from experience that a slowdown in this process can create wait times of four to five hours. That’s what we saw during the 2021 strike.”
In August 2021, 9,000 CBSA personnel went on strike for almost two days, leaving trucks lined up at border crossings across Canada for hours.
In 2023, more than 5.5 million cargo trucks crossed the border from Canada to the U.S., including more than 1.56 million through Detriot’s Ambassador Bridge, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
company=driver
cover sheet , ACI paper, Customes invoice, Bills of Lading , all with PAPS or PARS bar code stickers on them, and a Transaction number written on the ACI paper , before you get to the border, canadian customs try to FINE you $10,000 dollars if you dont have your papers right. call the customs broker to see if they recieved the FAX OF THE CUSTOMS INVOICE before you leave the SHIPPER. if they didnt get the FAX you cant get the transaction number.