Sault border officers picket Sheehan's office as threat of strike looms

Unionized border services officers demonstrated outside MP Terry Sheehan's office today as the threat of an Aug. 6 strike continues despite negotiations resuming on Thursday. 

The demonstrators are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union, which represent 5,500 border services officers, 2,000 headquarters staff and other workers at Canada Post facilities and in inland enforcement jobs. The unions are negotiating with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Treasury Board. 

The union members have been without a contract for about three years and on Tuesday, agreed to strike as early as Aug. 6 if the two sides can't reach an agreement.

The union and the employers have been unable to agree on better protections for staff that the union argues would bring them in line with other law enforcement personnel across Canada and address a "toxic" workplace culture.

The dispute comes as Canada is preparing to allow fully vaccinated Americans to visit without having to quarantine starting Aug. 9 and will open the country's borders to travellers from other countries with both doses of a COVID-19 shot on Sept. 7.

with files from The Canadian Press