With the April 28 federal elections fast approaching, we want to help our members have all the information they need to make an informed choice when it comes to important union and labour-related issues. In that spirit, and in light of recent events in the United States, the CIU National President sent the following letter to the leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, Canada’s New Democratic Party, the Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party of Canada, on April 1, 2025.
Dear Party Leaders,
On March 28, 2025, the Donald Trump administration further eroded the American federal public service with an executive order taking aim at unionized workers, unilaterally removing collective bargaining rights for U.S. national security agencies. This far-reaching executive order is a direct assault on American labour rights, stripping crucial protections from public service employees in such diverse fields as national defence, border security, public safety and justice.
Under normal circumstances, such a malicious decision would be rightfully concerning. But these are not normal circumstances: In addition to his pursuit of dismantling American democracy, Donald Trump’s sustained rhetoric around annexing Canada makes it critical for Canadians to stand up and fight back against any attempts to whittle down our own, hard-won rights from the inside.
Canadian unions and workers have been instrumental in shaping our country’s labour history and landscape. The rights and protections enjoyed by Canadian workers today are a direct result of organized labour’s efforts, both past and present. These rights are essential in maintaining good, secure, well-paid jobs that allow Canadian workers to thrive — and, in the case of Canada’s public service workers, to provide important, much needed services to the Canadian people.
Given the assault on labour rights south of our border, and with the upcoming federal election on April 28, Canadian workers need to know that our leaders are ready to stand on guard to protect labour rights.
As National President of the union representing more than 12,000 Border Services personnel who work to defend our borders and our communities, I write to you today to urge you to protect Canada’s labour rights, including:
- Collective bargaining rights for all Canadian unionized workers.
- The right to unionize for all Canadian workers.
- The Rand formula — the foundation of modern Canadian labour relations and collective bargaining.
- Safeguarding public sector pensions — ensuring that the defined benefit pensions federal public service workers have been working toward remain intact.
Will you commit to protecting these hard-won rights? I’m sure you’ll agree: Canadians deserve a leadership who will look to defend their rights as workers and protect their jobs and working conditions in the face of political and economic uncertainty.
The Customs and Immigration Union has long been at the forefront of the fight to defend workers’ rights. As you know, we’ve been vocal about the need for the federal government to expand access to early retirement for frontline public safety workers, including CBSA officers, and we look forward to the next government honouring past commitments to make this a reality. At this juncture, however, events unfolding south of us indicate that the stakes have never been higher, and it is paramount that our political leaders make clear that they understand how vital it is for all workers to see their rights upheld.
I look forward to your response, which we will share with our membership.
Yours truly,
Mark Weber
National President, Customs and Immigration Union
Click here for the PDF version of this letter.
