Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you here today. As the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, which represents Canada's frontline border officers and other personnel working for the Canada Border Services Agency, it is always a pleasure to assist this committee.
Regarding the proposed legislation, we have a number of concerns that I'd like to highlight, acknowledging that the type of civilian oversight the bill aims to create is something that already exists for most law enforcement bodies, and that we agree it is paramount for our government and its agencies to develop the tools and resources necessary to address issues linked to overreach, systemic discrimination and abuse of authority.
That said, the bill seems to be missing the mark when it comes to addressing systemic issues already present within the agency, which is infamous among its employees for letting gross abuse by management run unchecked. To be candid, I have lost count of the number of times CBSA management has, in one way or another, done everything in its power to minimize, delay or brush aside complaints from employees regarding highly problematic behaviour from managers, choosing rather to use the robust discipline process already in place to punish employees through unfair and heavy-handed disciplinary actions.
I see nothing in this bill that would help curb this, and I'm concerned that the proposed commission would mostly serve as an additional punitive tool to be used toward our public-facing members without really addressing entrenched cultural issues within the CBSA and its management structure. What we're talking about here is an agency that year after year refuses to hire an appropriate number of frontline officers, preferring to invest in automated technology, which, when it fails—and it does fail—only exacerbates existing issues: an automated technology that makes Canada less safe.
It is an agency that claims to be committed to addressing systemic racism but arbitrarily cancels anti-racism and anti-discrimination training developed in large part by its own racialized employees. It is an agency that does everything it can to set itself up for human rights complaints by staffing immigration holding facilities with poorly trained, contracted-out security guards.
All of these aspects play an underlying role in any complaint made to the commission, and they must be addressed.
We also have real concerns with the absence of clear language around an employee's right to procedural fairness and natural justice and to representation during administrative investigations, and around the time limits for investigations as well. In our experience, investigations within CBSA are already lengthy—more often than not, unnecessarily so. Bill C-20 does not address this. In fact, under this new legislation, it's likely that investigations could take years to be completed, which is fair neither for the complainant nor for the party under investigation.
I should point out that this bill is being discussed while more than 8,000 officers and other law enforcement personnel we represent at the CBSA are currently in bargaining with the agency and with Treasury Board. It is concerning that the Government of Canada would seek to pass legislation that could potentially change the nature of employment for our members, which would effectively bypass the bargaining process. At the very least, the union should be afforded the opportunity to address the proposed legislation and its ramifications at the bargaining table. Ultimately, the legislation should also include clear language guaranteeing that collective agreement rights are maintained, especially when it comes to investigations and representations.
I would like to end by pointing out that for many of our members, this latest piece of legislation is likely to be seen as yet another example of the agency and the government treating its border officers as proper law enforcement and public safety personnel only when it suits them.
The role of border officer has changed tremendously over the past 25 years, and our law enforcement members are an integral part of this country's public safety framework. The proposed legislation of this new civilian oversight body implies that the federal government agrees, yet our members are not recognized as public safety personnel under major public service legislation, such as the Public Service Superannuation Act and the Income Tax Act and their associated regulations. The government cannot pick and choose. For Bill C-20 to be coherent, it must be accompanied by language confirming the status of border officers as public safety personnel across federal legislation. Changes to these two acts must happen as well.
I thank you, and I look forward to your questions.