In a letter to Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree sent on March 2, New Democratic Party MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona) called upon the federal government to ensure the Canada Border Services Agency respect its human rights obligations toward accommodated Border Services Officers, and treat these officers with the dignity they deserve.
Expressing support for affected officers, the MP stressed their right to a fair accommodation process, denouncing the blanket nature of CBSA’s ongoing review of accommodation agreements.
“The list of duties accommodated officers can perform is vast” wrote McPherson to the Minister, pointing out that “it does not make sense for CBSA to push out 200 trained, highly qualified officers who bring years of experience to the table, at the same time your government has made it a priority to hire a thousand new border officers and workers. Canada simply cannot afford to lose this expertise.”
We thank MP McPherson for her support in this matter, and we look forward to the Minister’s response.
