Customs and Immigration Union questions Sask. border security plan

A few days after the Government of Saskatchewan unveiled its border security plan, the head of the Customs and Immigration Union — which represents workers at the border — was still scratching his head over it.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to exactly what’s going to be being done and who’s going to be doing what,” said Mark Weber, the union’s national president.

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The province’s plan involved redeploying officers from highways and conservation in southern Saskatchewan and re-focusing them to watch out for border issues. The province has also tasked equipment like vehicles, drones and aircraft to help improve security along the U.S. border.

Weber said the union is unsure about the government’s plan, noting that it’s a bit light on details. From what he sees, he said he doesn’t really understand how parts of the plan will work.

The union head said there are questions around legal authorities for the officers, and whether the focus will be people coming into Canada from the U.S. or people going into the U.S. from Canada.

“I don’t know if any of these different agencies being named have any training under the Immigration (and) Refugee Protection Act. They don’t have any authorities under the Customs Act,” said Weber, who noted that the legislation is complicated and requires training and experience to navigate.

He said he’s seen some of the details about equipment, like patrol vehicle being equipped with licence plate readers, but said if people aren’t entering the country through the ports of entry – where the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is operating – then they aren’t usually in a vehicle.

Weber said the union reached out to provincial government when border issues became a hot topic, but didn’t hear anything back.

“We have not be consulted. We have not been asked what we think would be a good plan. We’re really afraid a lot of these plans have been kind of made without the CBSA being very much involved at all,” said Weber.

When Saskatchewan’s Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod was asked about conversations with the CBSA or other organizations, he said they’re always in talks with other policing services, but also stressed that the plan involved the areas just north of the border, not on it.

“If it’s to help strengthen the border, to help stop things from getting into Canada, I’m not really sure what we’re doing with that north of the border – that has to be at the border,” Weber said in response.

Weber’s main message was that border security is federal responsibility, and should be dealt with by the federal government and CBSA.

“I think the CBSA has a mandate to secure the border, and that includes between ports of entry, so plans like this has, really, the provinces paying for services that are federal jurisdiction the CBSA should be providing and the federal government should be paying for,” he said.

Weber admitted there are gaps in security. He said the CBSA doesn’t operate between ports of entry, and he identified that as a main gap that isn’t being addressed. But, he said, it shouldn’t be up to the provinces to fill that problem; it should be the CBSA.

“I’m really kind of surprised to see provinces pouring so much money into this when, really, it should be the CBSA doing it, and no one seems to be pointing to the CBSA and saying ‘do your job,’” said Weber.

The federal government announced its own measures to shore up border security on Wednesday, including additional surveillance towers, and more technology like x-rays and chemical analyzers.