Border wait times could go up due to CBSA job losses
Posted April 12, 2012 9:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PEACE ARCH (NEWS1130) – Sometimes, it can take up half of your day just to drive into the US. But if you hate waiting in line at the border crossings, you better get used to it.
Hundreds of jobs within the Canada Border Services Agency are being slashed due to federal budget cuts and according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, that could mean longer line-ups.
John Gordon with the PSAC says 1,100 workers nationwide have been given notice their jobs are on the line. He’s worried the changes could impact travel time and security.
“If they let all of those jobs go, certainly it’s going to slow down services… Our members tell us they’re worried about what cuts could mean for the services they provide and what cuts will mean to the economy,” he explains.
It won’t just mean long waits at the border; Customs and Immigration Union President Jean-Pierre Fortin argues public safety could be comprised if the feds cut 100 intelligence jobs that deal with national security.
“Cutting these positions inevitably leads to a significant increase in drugs, weapons and in child porn getting into the hands of street gangs and criminals in our communities,” he argues.
“These same [workers] have the important job of identifying, documenting and gathering information prior to large seizures or illegal, drugs, weapons or child pornography managed by CBSA,” says Fortin.
Fortin adds more than 300 frontline border workers are also impacted by Harper’s cuts. This series of job losses are just one sectors affected by the budget plan.
