Clash over whether U.S. officers can be armed in Canada keeps Nexus offices closed
A dispute over legal protections for American customs officers has kept Nexus enrolment centres closed in Canada more than three months after they reopened south of the border - due in part to a clash over U.S. agents' right to carry guns on Canadian soil.
The standoff has led to a massive backlog in applications for the program, which allows pre-approved travellers to cross the border more quickly.
The Canada Border Services Agency says the number of Nexus applications has ballooned to 341,688 from about 270,000 in April at a time when delays are wreaking havoc on travellers' summer plans.
Canada and the U.S. remain in discussions about when the 13 enrolment centres will reopen for applicant interviews as the two sides try to clarify “legal protections” for American customs officers while they are working at the jointly staffed centres, agency spokeswoman Rebecca Purdy said in an email.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the hold-up revolves around legal “authorities” for its Nexus office staff.
“One example could include the authority to carry or have access to a firearm while on duty,” spokeswoman Rhonda Lawson said in an email.
Two senior Canadian government sources told The Canadian Press the U.S. wants its customs officers who work in Nexus centres to have the same protections guaranteed to its preclearance officers in Canada under a binational agreement, with sidearms as a major sticking point in the talks.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
All first-time Nexus applicants whose initial submissions are approved must come in for an enrolment centre interview before they get the green light. Some existing cardholders must also book a sit-down to renew their membership, which expires after five years.
About 75 per cent of current Nexus members are Canadian citizens, and another three per cent are permanent residents, according to the border agency.
While Canadians are allowed to head to one of a dozen Nexus centres in the U.S. located near the border, the wait is a long one. Five locations have no appointments available and four have none until next year, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website. The only three spots with openings in 2022 are in Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The delay is affecting tourism and causing inconvenience for frequent border crossers.
“If you had more people with Nexus, they get through faster and they don't clog up the other line,” said Jill Wykes, editor of Snowbird Advisor, an online resource for snowbirds.
“Many other government offices are open,” she said. “I think it's inexcusable.”
The enrolment centres shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in the U.S. reopened on April 19.
Since then, airports around the world have grappled with long security and customs queues amid staffing shortages and a massive travel rebound.
“It for sure has exacerbated the delay,” Duncan Dee, Air Canada's former chief operating officer, said of the thinning number of Nexus travellers.
Added Teamsters Canada spokeswoman Catherine Cosgrove: “I haven't even applied for Nexus, because there's no point.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to say whether firearms were at the heart of the impasse.
“I think it's really important that we are able to stay true to our values as Canadians but respect the way we need to work together,” he told reporters Friday on a visit to Stratford, P.E.I.
“There are ongoing conversations right now and we're going to try and make sure they get resolved in a way that is acceptable to both sides.”
Like the Fast program for long-haul trucker drivers, Nexus is a “trusted traveller” program that expedites entry for pre-cleared border crossers, typically through separate lines and automated kiosks at land crossings and airports as well as marine ports.
On top of a question portion, first-time interviews at enrolment centres include a high-resolution iris photo and fingerprinting, to be used for scanning at border kiosks.
Most Nexus processing centres are located at airports, though they are separate from customs halls.
“Why does an American officer need a gun during the Nexus interview? It's not necessary,” said Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer based in Blaine, Wash., just south of Vancouver. He echoed one of the Canadian government sources, who noted any interviewees would already be provisionally approved following their background checks.
A Canada-U.S. agreement that took effect in 2019 laid out certain protections for U.S. border officers working in preclearance areas on Canadian soil and vice versa.
Preclearance is when customs and immigration officials from the destination country admit travellers in the country of origin - for example, clearing U.S. customs at the Toronto airport before boarding a flight to Los Angeles. The U.S. operates preclearance sites at eight Canadian airports and one ferry crossing.
Protections under the 2019 agreement include, for example, U.S. border officers being tried in American court for most offences if they're charged with an on-duty crime in Canada. The deal also specifies that U.S. customs officers can carry firearms wherever Canada Border Services Agency officers can.
Neither CBSA nor U.S. officers are permitted to carry guns in Nexus centres. In the case of Nexus centres inside airports, the locations are distinct from preclearance areas.
The U.S. is seeking to apply the terms of the preclearance agreement to agents working in Nexus offices, which are not explicitly covered by the binational scheme, according to Saunders and the two government sources.
Not all stakeholders see Nexus as key to reducing overall wait times.
“It would be good to have them open again, said Mark Weber, president of Canada's Customs and Immigration Union, which represents some 10,000 border guards.
“But opening the Nexus offices will certainly not get people on to the front line, where we really need them.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing
The UN food agency estimated that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.
Local Spotlight
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
Regina police hope new biometric monitoring system will save lives in detention facility
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors bet on who will win Round 2 of the playoffs. Here's what's at stake
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
'No other life taken': Mother leads ATV helmet drive to honour daughter's legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.