CIU members, including National President Mark Weber, joined federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on October 17, as the NPD announced a commitment to rehire 1,100 border officers in an effort to stop the flow of illegal firearms into the country.
“The men and women of the CIU can stop guns from entering this country. But because of Conservative cuts, ports of entry are chronically understaffed,” said Singh at the press conference in Toronto on Thursday. “The NDP will fight for 1,100 new border officers to be urgently hired and trained to replace the jobs Conservatives cut. If the Liberals continue to let people down, an NDP government will rehire those 1,100 border officers immediately and keep hiring and keep training.”
Read the NDP’s announcement here
Thanking Singh for his commitment to properly staff the border and support frontline border personnel, the CIU National President was clear: The reality at CBSA is bleak. “Many of our members face exhaustion due to sustained understaffing” explained Weber. “Things desperately need to change at CBSA if we want to get serious about stopping illegal firearms: more frontline border personnel, expanded abilities for our border officers to patrol between ports of entry, improved training facilities, reliable tools that don’t break down, and even benefits in line with other law enforcement agencies to help with the workforce renewal.”
Mark Weber highlighted the positive commitment from the federal government to introduce pension reform for frontline personnel this fall, including border officers, which should help the Agency retain dedicated personnel and have a beneficial impact on the long-term. “That’s a first step” said Weber, “and there’s so much more work that needs to be done”, emphasizing the need for the Agency to stop relying on automated technology that only serves to make our border less secure, and hire officers to find the dangerous goods that threaten our communities.
Watch the full press conference on CPAC
“CBSA officers get in this line of work because they want to keep Canadians safe, and they deserve to be given every tool they need to be successful,” concluded Weber. “What we’re hearing today from the NDP is exactly the kind of support that we need.”
