(Toronto Star) It
could be hell on wheels for Canadian travellers returning from the United States this Labour Day weekend -- or the greatest cross-border shopping bonanza in years.
At all major border crossings in Ontario and
across Canada, customs officers plan to exercise "due diligence" when inspecting vehicles and questioning travellers. The move, a protest over the pace of contract talks with the federal government, is
expected to slow cross-border traffic to a crawl from Thursday through Monday.
"We don't personally back up traffic but the effect is the same," said Mike Coene, president of Sarnia Local 19 of the
Customs and Excise Union.
Customs officers may also observe an unofficial "duty-free day." Canadians returning with American-bought goods "might just find themselves being waved through"
without being charged duty, said Erik Lupien, a national spokesperson for the union.
"Why not hurt the employer?" He said the same tactic by union members at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Dorval,
Que., during the August long weekend resulted in "the daily take (of duty fees) dropping from $20,000 to about 100 bucks."
This weekend's job action -- far more intensive than the scattered slowdowns
and picket lines at several border crossings earlier this year -- is a protest against what union members see as a lack of progress in contract negotiations. The union wants pay parity with other law-enforcement
workers. The last contract expired Oct. 31. Lupien stressed that actions this weekend are not union organized and it's up to "individual union members to vent their frustration."
Danny Yen,
communications manager for the Canadian Border Services Agency, warned workers they could be punished for deliberately impeding traffic or neglecting to collect duty. |
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