This afternoon CBSA put out a statement to union members concerning the arming initiative. We believe the content of the communication to be both inaccurate and misleading. To provide but one example, CBSA’s Q and A document states that:
“As per the FB Collective Agreement, if you were hired in the FB group after August 31, 2007 and refuse to participate in training or are not successful in obtaining any of its pre-requisite components, this may result in the termination of your employment for not meeting the conditions of employment of your position.”
Our collective agreement does not state this.
Another such example: CBSA’s Q and A document states that the FB collective agreement provides “a training schedule for achieving successful results on March 31, 2016”.
Our collective agreement provides for no such arming schedule.
The Q and A document states that officers who are unable to meet the condition to carry a firearm will be placed on leave for up to two years. This contravenes the employer’s obligations under human rights law. In fact it contravenes CBSA’s own policy.
These are but 3 examples of the many inaccuracies in CBSA’s communication.
We have rights. Our Union will uphold and defend them.
– The collective agreement mandates two joint committees to meet and discuss firearm training participant selection and placement post training. These committees have not met yet as the contract was just signed.
– The collective agreement provides clear processes for selection for firearm training participants. This process must be respected. It also calls for protections that must also be respected.
– The employer has a duty under federal law to accommodate up until undue hardship. This means that, regardless of when an officer is hired, there are a great many scenarios under which an officer must be accommodated if he/she is unsuccessful in passing CDT and Arming.
We will update as things progress. Please see your union representative or Branch President with any questions.
