Feds reach tentative deal with striking border guards days before restrictions ease
Canada's border agents reached a new tentative agreement with the federal government late Friday after a daylong work-to-rule campaign left long lines of semi-trailers and passenger vehicles idling for hours at some of the country's busiest international gateways.
The deal, announced after more than 36 straight hours of mediated talks, came with just days to spare before U.S. citizens and permanent residents are expected to begin queuing up for their first chance to get into Canada since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are relieved that CBSA and the government finally stepped up to address the most important issues for our members to avoid a prolonged labour dispute," Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said in a statement.
"The agreement is a testament to the incredible hard work and dedication of our bargaining team who worked through the night to reach a deal."
It helped that the work-to-rule effort put "intense pressure" on the government "at every airport and border crossing across the country," he added.
Long lines of semi-trailer trucks snaked away from border points as the work-to-rule campaign slowed traffic to a crawl, particularly for commercial shippers, while marathon negotiations that began Thursday stretched through night and day.
Reported commercial wait times for truckers at the Pacific Bridge in Surrey, B.C., reached more than five hours as the afternoon wore on, while regular travellers looking to get into Saskatchewan faced similarly long delays at the North Dakota entry point in the town of Portal.
At the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, Ont., trucks were being held up for more than three hours, much as they were at the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie, Ont., and the city of Buffalo. At Windsor's Ambassador Bridge, both trucks and passenger vehicles faced similar delays.
Guards who work for the Canada Border Services Agency were part of a job action that began early Friday amid contract talks between the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada's Customs and Immigration Union.
Members of the union, which represents some 9,000 CBSA employees, spent the day following procedures to the letter after a negotiation deadline was set for 6 a.m. ET Friday.
About 90 per cent of front-line border workers are classified as essential employees, a designation that prevents them from walking off the job.
Customs and Immigration Union president Mark Weber said the agreement acknowledges the hard work that members have been engaged in since long before the onset of the pandemic. Border guards have been without a long-term contract since 2018.
"Finally -- after three years of negotiations -- we've resolved long-standing issues that will go a long way towards making CBSA a better, safer place to work for our members," Weber said.
The four-year tentative agreement, which dates back to 2018, provides CBSA employees with an average wage increase of more than two per cent a year, the union said in a statement.
It also provides what the union calls better protection against "excessive discipline" in the workplace, a national committee to address "workplace culture problems," as well as paid meal allowances for uniformed members.
The deal also includes a suite of improvements to leave and allowance provisions, including handling of grievances, a domestic-violence clause and a promise to work towards early-retirement benefits for employees.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Early results from London, U.K., suggest Labour's Sadiq Khan will secure a record third term as mayor
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.