Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

PSAC condemns hate-motivated terror attack on London family

London vigil / Vigile à London

Salman Afzaal, Madiha Salman, Yumna Salman, Fayez Salman and Afzaal’s mother should have been able to walk safely together in their own neighbourhood. Family walks have been one of the few ways in which families can safely spend time together outside their homes during the pandemic.

Fayez, the nine-year old sole survivor of the domestic terror attack in London, Ontario, should not be mourning the loss of his parents, grandmother and sister. This horrific and shocking killing of a family is an immeasurable loss for not only the Muslim and London communities, but for all people in Canada. It is a stark reminder of how much we still need to fight Islamophobia in Canada.

Muslims, and especially Muslim women, routinely experience Islamophobia because of their faith. Since 9/11, Muslims have been portrayed by some politicians, media outlets, and right-wing groups as terrorists, violent and threatening “Canadian” values, which has led to an increase in Islamophobia. Islamophobic incidents include murder, online harassment, threats, violence, vandalism, and workplace discrimination.

PSAC condemns Islamophobia in all its forms and calls for municipal, provincial, territorial and federal governments to take urgent action against systemic Islamophobia. PSAC also supports the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ call for a National Summit on Islamophobia.

There is no place for hate, violence and Islamophobia in our union, workplaces and our communities. We must show our solidarity with Muslim communities and play an active role in the fight against Islamophobia and racism. We must name it, speak out, and take action when we witness it.

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.

COVID-19 Update — Follow-up to question on use of 699 leave

Image of border crossing with the words "COVID-19"

The following message was sent by the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. 

We are following up on the question which was raised during our COVID-19 Update call on Tuesday.  With regards to requests from employees to take the child/person for whom they have a duty of care to get the COVID vaccine, our guidance to Departments is the following:

  • The employee should first try to schedule the vaccination appointment outside of work hours or work flexible hours to make up the time taken.
  • The employee can schedule family related leave to bring a child / person for whom they have a duty of care to the vaccination appointment.
  • If that is not possible and all Family related leave has been used, the employer could grant 699 leave for a reasonable time period to get the vaccine as this is related to COVID.

COVID-19: The employer must reconsider its position on close contact training

Image of border crossing with the words "COVID-19"

The following message was sent to the employer on June 2nd by Mark Weber, CIU’s 1st National Vice-President, and Co-Chair of the Policy Health and Safety Committee.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen our Policy Health and Safety Committee commit a great deal of time and effort to ensuring that all CBSA employees are kept as safe as possible. We’ve accomplished much that’s positive, in circumstances where the planning and implementation of every preventative measure was an urgent matter. Most Departments within the CBSA have participated proactively in this work with us, making all we’ve had to address run much more smoothly.

Our experience working with Training and Development has been uniquely negative. We’ve repeatedly learned of scheduled training from our members, without it having first been brought to our Committee as mandated by the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (COHSR). We’ve been given documents to assess on the eve of training, only after insisting that they be provided. We’ve seen all they’ve developed ‘assessed’ at meetings of a health and safety ‘working group’, who we’ve learned keep no minutes, and whose composition we are entirely unaware of. We’ve been told repeatedly that everything in place was approved by a qualified person, only to learn that this is not the case. Procedures that include a 14 day quarantine period continue to be used to declare safe close contact training for employees who are not quarantining.

We recently asked to participate in a meeting with Health Canada, only to learn that the employer had the meeting without us. We were told that Health Canada will “never state that training is safe or unsafe”. Health Canada was only asked about the preventative measures in place, not the training itself. The truth is that no qualified person will say that it is now safe to ignore physical distancing, because it is not. Health Canada’s recommendation that training be reevaluated based on local pandemic conditions was ignored and again, the documents provided to Health Canada had the trainees quarantining, which is not what is happening for anyone other that our OITPs.

The odd justifications the employer side of our Committee continues to espouse for Training and Development are inexplicable given the business like, efficient manner in which all else connected to COVID has been dealt with. The culmination of this behaviour is the recent conclusion that it is not the role of the Policy Health and Safety Committee to determine when training is safe to resume, “it is ultimately management that determines the safety of training”.

The employee members of the Policy Health and Safety Committee do not believe that it is safe to resume close contact training, and we urge the employer members of our Committee to revisit their decision to recommend it. Should the decision be to forge ahead with close contact training, we ask that daily COVID testing be arranged for trainees and trainers.

No proper risk assessment has been conducted, no qualified person has assessed any of the risks associated with this training, and the first step of Part 122.2 of the CLC has been wrongly passed over. We remind the employer of their obligations under the CLC and COHSR, including Part 148 of the CLC.

FB bargaining: Team wraps up case at Public Interest Commission

Photo of BSO with the words "Bargaining: FB Group"

The FB bargaining team presented PSAC’s arguments for compensation parity with other law enforcement agencies across Canada at Public Interest Commission hearings May 10, 18, and 20. The team also made the case – repeatedly – that there are serious problems with harassment and abuse of authority at CBSA that need to be addressed.

As per the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, the FB bargaining team filed for conciliation earlier this year when it became clear that the employer was not prepared to seriously address outstanding issues, including parity with other federal enforcement agencies.

The FB team also raised the need for new rights for employees, particularly as they pertain to discipline, hours of work and telework for non-uniform personnel. Our team was clear: CBSA management cannot be trusted, and FB members need better protections.

Download: PSAC’s PIC brief

Employer position

The employer responded to the team’s wage position by stating that it is inappropriate to compare members of the FB bargaining unit – including Inland Enforcement, Investigations, Intelligence and Border Services Officers – with other large law enforcement organizations such as municipal, provincial and federal police forces. The employer has indicated that there are no recruitment or retention issues at CBSA. The employer also asserted that FB-2s work as ‘trainees’, that management heavy-handedness is not a problem at CBSA and that telework protections for non-uniformed employees should not be included in the collective agreement.

FB members deserve parity

The FB team fiercely opposed all the employer’s claims. From skeleton staffing at ports of entry to officers being asked to handout recruitment flyers to the public at certain ports, clearly there are recruitment and retention problems at CBSA. As for comparator groups, our position is that a majority of PSAC/CIU members at CBSA are armed law enforcement personnel, and that compensation and other rights need to reflect this reality.

FB members have been on the front lines of the pandemic for more than 14 months. Our members have worked to keep Canada’s borders secure and Canadians safe, and deserve to be treated with respect by the employer.

Next steps

The PIC will now provide its recommendation based on the hearings.  Unlike arbitration, the recommendation is non-binding. While the legislation provides for the PIC to issue its recommendation within 30 days of the hearing, the chair may extend that timeline.

National town halls

As we prepare for the PIC recommendation, it’s important to get up to speed on the key issues at the table and learn more about the next steps in our mobilization efforts.

PSAC-CIU will be holding additional virtual town hall where you’ll hear from Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) National President Jean-Pierre Fortin and PSAC national negotiator Morgan Gay who will provide important information and insight into the bargaining process, the Public Interest Commission, and our key demands at the table. You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns at the end of the meeting.

French FB town hall  
May 26, 6 p.m. EST
Register now 

English FB town hall  
May 27, 6 p.m. EDT
Register now 

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.

May 17 — International day against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia

May 17 banner (Int. Day against homophobia, transphobia, biphobia)

Together: Resisting, Supporting, Healing

On May 17th and every day, we fight for justice as a global issue, resisting, supporting and healing together. Gains made in the fight for LGBTQ2+ rights over the past few decades are fragile, and the work towards an inclusive and equitable future continues.

Canada’s labour movement must be at the forefront of the fight to protect the rights of LGBTQ2+ communities. We cannot be strong as a labour movement unless we are strong in all our communities and in ourselves.

Globally, there is an increase in discrimination and violence towards LGTBQ2+ communities. From attempts to ban trans people from playing sports  and denying gender-affirming care  in the US, to the fight against police brutality and systemic discrimination in Nigeria, to anti-LGBTQ2+government measures in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania . Just recently, Alireza Fazeli Monfared was brutally murdered in Iran over his sexuality.

COVID-19 continues to expose the many systemic inequities and barriers faced by marginalized populations. Many members of LGBTQ2+ communities are experiencing a reduction in access to healthcare services, increased stigma, discrimination, violence, abuse, isolation and increased unemployment during this crisis. Indigenous, Black, and racialized LGBTQ2+ people, and those with disabilities, have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Canadians are not immune to homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. Advocacy and education around the rights of trans people remains a contentious issue as trans people continue to face increasing levels of discrimination and violence. Legal battles for access to gender-affirming care for teens and children in Canada remains an issue. The blood donation ban unfairly targets men who have sex with men, gender non-conforming people and transgender people. And despite this, the recent federal budget contained no funding to address issues of inequality for LGBTQ2+ people in Canada.

PSAC continues to fight for LGBTQ2+ rights and we have won some notable victories in recent years. We continue to advocate for more inclusive workplaces by bringing issues affecting LGBTQ2+ workers to the bargaining table, fighting to include HIV prevention medication and gender-affirming health care into extended health plans, advocating for gender inclusive washrooms in workplaces, and more.

May is the first month of PSAC’s ongoing Pride celebrations. Join us in support of LGBTQ2+ justice.

Get involved:

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.