Nearly 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) workers took work-to-rule strike action Friday, causing delays and back-ups at the U.S.-Canada border.
At the Blaine border crossing, traffic is backed up from the Canadian border down State Route 543 onto I-5 north. The expected wait time at the Blaine crossing is 5 hours and 15 minutes for commercial traffic.
At the Sumas border crossing, there were about 30 to 40 cars backed up on surface streets Friday morning, according to the Sumas Police Department.
As of 4:00 p.m., the wait time at the Abbotsford, British Columbia-Sumas crossing was up to two hours for commercial flow with 55 minutes for travelers flow, according to CBSA.
During work-to-rule strike action, workers obey all policies and procedures of their jobs, performing them to “the letter of the law,” according to Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union that represents the workers. The union said this may cause “long and unavoidable delays” as “workers carry out their jobs as they were trained to do.”
A majority of CBSA workers voted to strike July 27 amid contract negotiations. Employees who are represented by PSAC and the Customs and Immigration Union have been without a contract for more than three years. The union says workers seek better protections and great parity with other Canadian law enforcement agencies.
The strike includes workers at land border crossings, airports, commercial shipping ports, postal facilities and headquarters, according to the union.
The action comes three days before the Canadian border is expected to re-open to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens for non-essential travel. However, Canada won’t open its border to all other vaccinated travelers until Sept. 7.
Brandon Lee is the Consul General of Canada, and based in Seattle. In an interview this week, he stressed that “Americans will need to still do their homework.” Lee says every American will need to download the ArriveCAN app and upload their vaccination record, along with proof of a negative COVID test in the past 72 hours. “This will be our standard through the summer and fall,” he said.
Lee says he does expect long lines on Sunday night, and Monday, and said Americans could also be asked to do another randomized COVID test immediately after crossing the border.
He recommended people allow plenty of time to make their trip, given the expected demand and currently labor action at the border. Commonly asked questions can be answered on Canada's travel FAQ page.
Border restrictions for non-essential travel into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico will continue through at least Aug. 21.