There are currently no public health officials stationed at Canada-U.S. land border crossings to assist in screening for COVID-19, Global News has learned.
The union that represents border officers has been asking the government to place health officials at all major land border crossings for weeks, but so far nothing has been done, said union president Jean-Pierre Fortin.
In March, Canada closed its border to foreign nationals who had recently travelled outside Canada or the United States.
Border restrictions were then extended to include all non-essential travel between Canada and the U.S., and a mandatory, 14-day self-isolation period is now required for anyone returning.
To facilitate these measures and assist border officers in the screening process, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) stationed health officials at airports and began handing out pamphlets with information on social distancing, quarantine and other health precautions people must follow.
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According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), its enhanced screening measures at airports include directing anyone who says they feel ill or who displays signs of sickness to on-site PHAC employees for further questioning.
But this isn’t happening at land border crossings because no PHAC employees are stationed there.
And with the majority of people entering Canada travelling by land — including thousands of essential workers who cross the border daily — Fortin says the health and safety of border officers are being put at risk due to the absence of immediate and sound medical advice.
“We’re still prepared to do the work and keep Canadians safe, but a little help from Health Canada would be really appreciated,” Fortin said.
Land crossings exceed air travel
According to data released by the CBSA, roughly 478,000 people entered Canada in the first two weeks after border restrictions were implemented. About 65 per cent of these travellers entered Canada through a land border crossing.
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Between March 30 and April 5, the most recent week for which data is available, land border crossings outpaced air travellers by a factor of almost four to one.
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Fortin says the biggest advantages of having public health officials at land border crossings would be for them to see the daily working environment for CBSA officers and provide on-the-spot guidance with the screening process.
He also said he can’t understand why PHAC staff would be placed at airports and not land border crossings, especially when these sites are now the biggest contributors to cross-border travel and places like Detroit, Mich. — just across the river from Windsor, Ont. — have become epicentres for the global COVID-19 outbreak.
“If one of our officers gets contaminated and can spread the disease, we’re not going to be ahead here,” he said.
Public health officials available ‘by phone’
Global News asked Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair — who’s run point on all border-related issues during the pandemic — to explain why PHAC employees are not stationed at Canada’s land border crossings. A spokesperson for Blair’s office directed the request to Health Canada, saying it would be better positioned to provide a response.
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Health Canada, which is responsible for PHAC, said it has several “standard border measures in place” to mitigate the risk of introducing and spreading communicable diseases in Canada, including 24-7 access to a PHAC quarantine officer from all international points of entry.
If a border officer believes someone is sick or has symptoms that could pose a threat, they will contact a quarantine officer who can make an assessment and may order the traveller to undergo a medical examination, said Health Canada spokesperson Natalie Mohamed.
Health Canada did not, however, explain why there are no PHAC employees stationed at land border crossings, nor did it explain the process by which CBSA officers at the Canada-U.S. border contact public health officials if they believe someone poses a risk.
The CBSA, meanwhile, confirmed that no public health officials have been placed at land border crossings and said initial contact between the CBSA and PHAC is done over the phone.
“We are continually assessing our operational posture with our colleagues at the Public Health Agency of Canada, including where their screening officers and quarantine officers are needed and best utilized. Should circumstances change, we will revisit,” said CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy in a written statement.
The CBSA also said the health and safety of its officers is its top priority and that all front-line workers are provided with personal protective equipment and specialized training at both airports and land border crossings.
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Anyone entering Canada who says they are sick or who displays signs of illness is provided with information on how to self-isolate and quarantine requirements.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
