As Canada eases travel restrictions related to COVID-19, the country is still short of thousands of border services officers, according to their union. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) expects “increased pressure at the borders” in the coming years.
Posted at 3:50 p.m.
“We estimate that there is a shortage of at least 1,000 officers across the country, all operations combined,” said Pierre St-Jacques, of the Customs and Immigration Union. A number that he considers “conservative” since it is “based on staff cuts made by the Harper government”.
This therefore does not take into consideration “regular attrition or even the growing needs in terms of border operations […] or evolving security issues,” such as firearms smuggling. “In this context, we are talking more about a lack of 2,000 to 3,000 agents, in our opinion,” he assessed.
“There are not enough officers on duty to adequately meet the needs,” insisted Mr. St-Jacques, which affects not only travellers, “but also all of the CBSA’s activities. , including its ability to intercept contraband”.
The CBSA “expects increased pressure at Canada’s borders given the increased volume of trade and travel,” said spokeswoman Judith Gadbois-St-Cyr.
The Agency did not respond to questions from The Press concerning recruitment difficulties or current and future needs. She simply specified that they train “approximately 400 recruits per year”, a number which “fluctuates to meet the needs of the Agency”.
The CBSA had previously indicated that it does not release “information on the staffing of the various ports of entry”.
Ottawa confirmed on Tuesday that it is suspending the requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to board a plane or train as of June 20, which could help increase ridership. The lifting of random screening tests last weekend, however, would have helped to improve fluidity at airports.
In a statement issued in mid-May, the Customs and Immigration Union called on the federal government “to increase the number of border services officers assigned to the passenger section at Canadian airports in order to alleviate the pressure on airport staff and travellers.
After laying off security staff during the pandemic, the nation’s airport security agency has hired 865 screening officers since April, Ottawa said, with more hires on the way, as the four largest airports of Canada forecast a 50% increase in the number of travelers within a few weeks.
As of 1er June, these hubs handled an average of 56,000 inbound passengers from overseas each day – more than half of them at Toronto’s Pearson airport where scenes of endless lines and traveler frustration circulated on social media and media for much of the spring. The number of travelers is expected to reach 80,000 in a few weeks, according to forecasts by the Canadian Airports Council (CAC).
With The Canadian Press