Expect Serious Delays at Border Due to Staff Shortages If Travel Levels Rise: Union

A Canada Border Services Agency officer hands documents back to a motorist entering Canada at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, B.C., on Aug. 9, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

The head of a union representing Canada’s customs and immigration officers says chronic staffing shortages mean long waits at the border won’t necessarily disappear when use of the controversial ArriveCan app soon becomes optional.

Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, warns that if travel volumes start to increase substantially there will be “significant delays” at Canada’s border points.