It all depends on what happens with a potential strike by workers at the Canada Border Services Agency, which could start as soon as Thursday.More than 9,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada members who work for the CBSA, including border guards, have secured a strike mandate. The two sides go into mediation on June 3, and the union will be a position to strike June 6.
Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton University’s school of business, said that means a border crossing could take much longer than it usually does. That wouldn’t just be a problem for tourists, but disrupt the economy, given $2.5 billion a day in goods crosses the border, he said. "People would be doing their work, albeit very thoroughly. How can you discipline people for following procedure?"A border crossing where it might take an extra 10 minutes to get across because the officer is doing everything by the book can "have an enormous disruptive effect magnified by the thousands of individuals, semi-trailers, various kinds of transport coming into Canada," she said.
Weber said the CBSA "are trying to almost create a self-serve checkout kind of system, like you see at grocery stores, at our borders." Then-PSAC president Chris Aylward indicated that includes the CBSA strike, saying in an earlier press conference the "government has to be prepared for a summer of discontent. Whatever that looks like, whether it’s at the borders, whether it’s at the airports."
That means the union would be skeptical if government only offers another letter of understanding. "What value does that have anymore?" Weber said."We remain at the bargaining table, committed to negotiating a deal that is fair to employees and reasonable to the Canadian taxpayer," Treasury Board spokesperson Martin Potvin said in a statement.