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Government Moves To Reduce NEXUS Backlog

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The federal government says more interview slots for applicants of the NEXUS program are being made available.

It’s part of an effort to reduce the backlog of applicants waiting approval of the alternate form of ID to cross the border.

The added spots will come by extending the hours at enrollment centers in the United States.

Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are also fast-tracking the approval of mosts program renewals and extending their deadline by five years as they await interviews are part of the project.

The border agencies says those efforts have reduced the backlog by 100 thousand.

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Text, Email & Phone Scams Target Potential ArriveCAN Users

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Canadians continue to be targeted through the Canada Border Services Agency.

Be wary of an errant email, text or phone scam where an individual claims to be from the CBSA.

They’ll ask for your personal information including your SIN and then a payment.

With the delivery of the scam always changing, citizens are always reminded to be on the look out for things that are out of place or unexpected, but these scams are always a means to swindle money and to lure the recipient into giving out highly personal information.

The CBSA stated in a release that as an agency, they will never initiate a request for a social insurance number or credit card information by telephone or email.

Victims are to not engage and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

There are also instances of fake ArriveCAN pages asking for payment. The ArriveCAN app is free and a product of the Government of Canada. It’s the platform to provide your mandatory information before and after entering Canada. An application for an Electronic Travel Authorization can only be made and paid for through the official Government of Canada website.

An eTA is electronically linked to a traveler’s passport and costs $7 CAD.

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Canada Opens Border To Fully Vaccinated U.S. Travellers

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Fully vaccinated travellers from the United States can enter Canada for non-essential reasons without self-isolating.

The new public health measures mark a milestone in the fight against COVID-19.

The last time Canada permitted non-essential travellers to enter the country was March 2020.

Despite the step forward, a series of requirements are in effect to avoid taking two steps back.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine accepted by the Government of Canada. The final dose must have been administered in the last 14 days.

So far, the vaccines approved by Canada are those made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

Personal information and proof of vaccination must be uploaded to the ArriveCAN app.

For Children under 12, the 14-day isolation period will not apply as long as their parents or guardians are fully vaccinated.

U.S. travellers will also need to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken prior to arriving in Canada, but also no more than 72 hours before arriving.

A complete list of the new health measures is available here.

While Canada is ready to welcome back U.S. travellers, the welcoming was not reciprocated. Canadians hoping to finish their summer down south are likely out of luck, as the United States continues to keep non-essential travellers out of the country.

Canada could open its welcoming party to the rest of the world if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are low. Public Health is eyeing September 7th for the reopening, however, travellers would be subject to the same rules that U.S. travellers face.

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Tentative Deal Reached With Border Service Workers

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Strike action has ended after a tentative deal was reached between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Customs and Immigration Union and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The four year tentative deal was reached late Friday night.

In a news release, PSAC National President Chris Aylward says, “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.”

Conditions of the deal include an average pay increase of over two per cent per year, retroactive to 2018, a better grievance-handling process, and the creation of a National Joint Committee to tackle workplace culture problems at CBSA.”

Work-to-rule strike action began at 7am Friday morning.

Negotiations between PSAC-CIU and CBSA began in January 2019 but reached an impasse in December 2020. National strike votes were held in June and July 2021, and PSAC-CIU announced issued an official strike notice on August 3.

CIU National President Mark Weber says. “Finally, after three years of negotiations, we’ve resolved longstanding issues that will go a long way towards making CBSA a better, safer place to work for our members.”

The border into Canada from the United States is scheduled to re-open on August 9th to fully vaccinated U.S. travellers.

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UPDATE: Negotiations Continue As CBSA Workers Begin Job Action

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Contract negotiations continue between the union representing Canada Border Services Agency workers and the federal government.

It comes as nearly 9,000 members across the country began work-to-rule action at 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday.

The unions representing the workers served strike notice to the federal government earlier this week.

They warn that travellers should expect long lineups and lengthy delays at border crossings and airports.

Employees want better protections against what they describe as toxic workplace culture and greater parity with other law enforcement agencies. They have been without a contract for more than three years.

The sweeping job action comes just days before the Canadian border is set to reopen to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens next Monday.

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CBSA Workers, Federal Government Resume Negotiations

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Negotiations have resumed between unionized Canada Border Services Agency workers and the federal government.

It comes just days after union reps announced that members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

Among other things, employees are seeking better protections against what they describe as toxic workplace culture.

They also want greater parity with other law enforcement agencies across Canada and a fair remote working policy for non-uniform members.

The more than 8,500 unionized members can legally take strike action on Aug. 6, just days before the Canadian border is set to reopen to fully vaccinated U.S. travellers.

Union officials have said any sort of labour dispute could cause significant disruptions to the flow of goods, services and people entering Canada.

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CBSA Workers Vote In Favour Of Strike Action

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The reopening of the Canada-U.S. border in August may not be as smooth as some are hoping for.

More than 8,500 Canada Border Services Agency workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The employees are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU).

“This is not something that we want,” Mark Weber, CIU national president, said about the looming potential of strike action.

CBSA employees could potentially begin strike action as soon as Aug. 6 — three days before the Canadian border will be reopened to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens.

Weber said any sort of labour dispute could cause significant disruptions at the border, especially as it prepares to reopen.

“A slow-down of traffic and travellers is a possibility, courier and mail could be slowed down, there are a lot of different ways we could go,” he said. “Our strategy committee is talking about which direction we want to take or a little bit of all of them or it could be different at every port.”

Weber said one of the chief concerns for members is better protection against toxic workplace culture at CBSA, which he said is taking a heavy toll on the mental health and well-being of members.

“We work in some very toxic workplaces at the CBSA so we want better protections and better whistleblower protections for that,” he said.

CBSA has consistently been near the bottom of the Public Service Employee Survey for many years and has ranked highest in terms of incidents of discrimination, harassment and workplace violence, according to Weber.

Members are also seeking greater parity with other law enforcement agencies across Canada and a fair remote working policy for non-uniform members

Chris Aylward, PSAC national president, said now is the time for the government to step up for CBSA members the way they have stepped up for Canadians during the pandemic.

“We’ve told the government numerous times that we’re ready to return to the table to negotiate a fair contract that addresses our members’ concerns, but their window to avert a strike is quickly closing,” said Aylward.

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Canadians Who Travel Face New Rules

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New travel restrictions are being introduced by the federal government.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says these will be quickly implemented, “The requirement for all arriving passengers to have a negative PCR COVID test three days before arriving in Canada.”

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says they have also increased the number of Canada Border Service Agents at crossings and airports.

He adds they are once again strongly advising Canadians not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary, “The federal government, in fact no government in Canada can prevent Canadians from travelling, but I want to be very clear. We strongly advise against all discretionary travel.”

If Canadians choose to travel, they must enter into quarantine, “Your compliance with these requirements will be verified regularly. If needed, your case can be referred to law enforcement in cases of non-compliance. If you violate quarantine you can face up to six months in jail or up to $750,000 in fines,” Blair says.