MINNEAPOLIS— Minnesota officials are keeping a close eye on a major dispute in the north as Canadian border agents prepare to go on strike.
“Our members gave us a mandate to strike,” said Mark Weber, president of the Canadian Customs and Immigration Union. “They voted 96% in favor.”
Weber says the union is fighting for salaries and rights that most other law enforcement officers already have.
Minnesota’s leaders are not sitting still.
“Our government, the Walz government, we meet regularly with the Canadian government to talk about this,” said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen.
Petersen says his panic meter about a possible strike at the border is at six or seven out of ten.
“Every year, Canada is one of, if not our, most important trading partners, along with Mexico and China,” he said.
Border agents play an important role in that trade.
“We do a lot of advertising,” Weber said. “We are critical to the economic aspect of that. Land borders, trucks drive through them. Navy, we transport a lot of freight on ships and the like.”
Federal government data shows that Minnesota exported $7 billion worth of goods last year to Canada, the state’s largest export destination.
Agricultural trade makes up a significant part of this.
“A lot of times we’re exporting feed, corn and different beans and things like that to Canada,” Petersen said. “That can be a very big problem, as can seed and equipment.”
In a statement to WCCO, the Canadian government said in part: “The government is fully committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement for border services workers… Workers have the right to strike, but at this time there is no need to do so. ready and willing to return to the negotiating table at any time.”
“Our members take great pride in the work they do,” Weber said. “They love serving Americans as they come through and protecting Canadians. We want to continue to do that. We don’t want to strike.”
A strike could begin in early to mid-June. If it does happen, the crossing could take more than 10 hours, Weber says. Petersen says the state government is working with Canada to prepare for that eventuality.
David Schuman
