Public servants protest at the Stanstead border crossing in Quebec's Eastern Townships

Striking Canadian public service workers gathered early Friday morning in front of the Service Canada building on Place de la Cité in Sherbrooke to catch buses to the Stanstead border crossing in the Eastern Townships to demonstrate on the tenth day of their walkout.

The small Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) post, which is open at all times, is the shortest distance between Stanstead and the town of Derby Line in Vermont.

The demonstration was expected to be less imposing than the one held the day before, when many striking union members demonstrated near the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing in Montérégie, usually one of the busiest in Canada.

Several Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers were also on the scene, forming a human barrier to restrict the movement of the protesters.

No incidents were reported.

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Other Public Service Alliance protesters marched through the streets of Quebec City on Thursday morning to show their discontent.

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are in their tenth day of strike action on Friday. The labour dispute affects some 155,000 workers, about one-third of the entire federal public service, including 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) who are negotiating their collective agreement separately.

On Thursday, the government of Canada gave no indication that it will end the strike by its largest public-sector union by forcing public servants back to work. Negotiations so far have failed to find common ground on issues such as wage increases and telework.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 28, 2023.