B.C. border crossings closed after report armed U.S. fugitive heading north
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SURREY, B.C. (CP) - Officers at the busy Peace Arch and Pacific Highway Canada-U.S. border crossings south of Vancouver walked off the job Friday over reports of an armed U.S. fugitive headed their way.
The crossing at Blaine, Wash., was closed for several hours until managers from the Canadian Border Services Agency could take over, a spokeswoman said. It's the third such incident at a B.C. crossing this year.
Paula Shore said the unarmed officers exercised their contractual right to refuse to work after their U.S. colleagues issued a warning to be on the lookout for an armed and dangerous person.
Under the border agents' collective agreement, they have the right to walk away if they believe their safety was jeopardized.
The incident created long lineups at the crossing, one of the busiest in Canada. Many drivers tried to back up and head to the nearby Pacific Highway crossing, which handles mainly commercial traffic.
"Supervisory staff has now taken over the management at both of these ports," Shore said Friday evening.
"There are traffic lineups at the moment that should dissipate as soon as additional supervisory staff arrive on site."
Shore said officials from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada would determine if there was any danger to the border officers.
"The ports will remain open until further notice," she said.
It's the third incident in a month when a Canadian border point closed as unarmed officers fled over the threat of armed Americans approaching.
Officers walked off the job at Roosville, in the southern B.C. Interior, on Feb. 2 after a female officer was told a Montana fugitive was headed her way.
He was later apprehended on the U.S. side of the border.
And on Jan. 24, officers at the Peace Arch crossing vacated their booths when warned two armed California men were headed towards the border.
Those fugitives were stopped in a shootout with American authorities inside Peace Arch park itself, which separates the U.S. and Canadian border points at Blaine, Wash.
Those incidents renewed demands from the officers' union that they be given guns.
New Conservative Justice Minister Vic Toews said the party will stand behind its promise to give them guns.
The current policy calls for the unarmed border guards to allow anyone suspected of being armed and dangerous into Canada and then call police.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?&src=n021087A.xml
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SURREY, B.C. (CP) - Officers at the busy Peace Arch and Pacific Highway Canada-U.S. border crossings south of Vancouver walked off the job Friday over reports of an armed U.S. fugitive headed their way.
The crossing at Blaine, Wash., was closed for several hours until managers from the Canadian Border Services Agency could take over, a spokeswoman said. It's the third such incident at a B.C. crossing this year.
Paula Shore said the unarmed officers exercised their contractual right to refuse to work after their U.S. colleagues issued a warning to be on the lookout for an armed and dangerous person.
Under the border agents' collective agreement, they have the right to walk away if they believe their safety was jeopardized.
The incident created long lineups at the crossing, one of the busiest in Canada. Many drivers tried to back up and head to the nearby Pacific Highway crossing, which handles mainly commercial traffic.
"Supervisory staff has now taken over the management at both of these ports," Shore said Friday evening.
"There are traffic lineups at the moment that should dissipate as soon as additional supervisory staff arrive on site."
Shore said officials from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada would determine if there was any danger to the border officers.
"The ports will remain open until further notice," she said.
It's the third incident in a month when a Canadian border point closed as unarmed officers fled over the threat of armed Americans approaching.
Officers walked off the job at Roosville, in the southern B.C. Interior, on Feb. 2 after a female officer was told a Montana fugitive was headed her way.
He was later apprehended on the U.S. side of the border.
And on Jan. 24, officers at the Peace Arch crossing vacated their booths when warned two armed California men were headed towards the border.
Those fugitives were stopped in a shootout with American authorities inside Peace Arch park itself, which separates the U.S. and Canadian border points at Blaine, Wash.
Those incidents renewed demands from the officers' union that they be given guns.
New Conservative Justice Minister Vic Toews said the party will stand behind its promise to give them guns.
The current policy calls for the unarmed border guards to allow anyone suspected of being armed and dangerous into Canada and then call police.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?&src=n021087A.xml
