Public Safety committee  The biggest thing for our members currently is our port passes, and those are part of the security clearance background checks. When I started on the waterfront about 20 years ago, I could get registered and go to work. Believe it or not, back then there were no fences around som

Public Safety committee  Let me clarify. I feel the background security checks that we have currently, which my membership goes through, and that I have gone through because I'm the president, are sufficient. Our background checks are head and shoulders above those of the United States. I have absolute f

Public Safety committee  Yes. My union was founded on the basis that every person is equal, period. It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, where you're from, or what your sexual orientation is. We have a government not too far down south from where I am right now that is banning people becaus

Public Safety committee  We've been told that this is unique to Canada Place when it comes to the maritime industry. It will only be applied to Canada Place. That's correct.

Public Safety committee  I wish I could say I do, but as per just about every other agreement that was negotiated with other countries under the last administration, we know nothing about it. We've never been consulted about it. We've never been told about it. We've never been asked to give our opinion o

Public Safety committee  There's a possibility of targeting? Yes, for sure. When this was discussed, it could have been targeted back then. We have another fear as well. On April 8, Bruce Josten, the executive vice-president of government affairs, sent a letter to Patrick Leahy and Ron Johnson of the U

Public Safety committee  The lack of transparency throughout this entire process is mind-boggling. First off, we have our employers—not the Government of Canada—sending information down to Homeland Security. Then Homeland Security sends back a derogatory comment—and we still don't know what that is—to ou

Public Safety committee  Let me clear up a couple of things. Longshore work is a little different. Any member who wants to work at the cruise ship terminal puts in for the Transport security clearance. As for what happens then, we're a daily dispatch, so on a Sunday morning, let's say, Cerescorp, our emp

Public Safety committee  Yes, at the cruise ship terminal, plus on the cruise ship.

Public Safety committee  Now, on that morning, Cerescorp won't know who their workers are until the first thing in the morning, about seven o'clock in the morning. They're supposed to send those 100 or more names down to Homeland Security, and then Homeland Security is supposed to respond to Cerescorp. T

Public Safety committee  It's from Transport Canada actually. We didn't hear about any of this stuff until the end of last year at a meeting with Transport Canada. It had a stakeholders meeting.

Public Safety committee  In February 2017, we were updated. The first time we were ever told by Transport Canada was when they gave us this Government of Canada, Canada-U.S. comprehensive agreement on pre-clearance. It's a slide show, which they gave to us as a handout. I could send it to you all, becaus

Public Safety committee  Yes, you did. I'm the president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada. What happens currently is that when our people want to work at Canada Place, they apply for security clearance through Transport Canada. If they pass their security clearance, they're allo

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada to participate in your important review of the pre-clearance act, 2016. ILWU Canada represents about 6,000 women and men who work at marine transportation facilities on Canada's west co