Thousands Of Federal Workers Are Striking Today & Here's How It Will Affect You
Government service across the board may be disrupted.
The Canadian Border. Right: A Service Canada sign.
Over 155,000 federal employees are striking as of April 19, making it one of the largest strikes in Canadian history.
And this means that a lot of federal services across a range of areas, including the Canada Revenue Agency, will be affected in a multitude of different ways.
The strike action was announced on April 18 at 9:15 p.m. after the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said they were unable to reach a fair contract with the government.
"Now more than ever, workers need fair wages, good working conditions and inclusive workplaces. And it’s clear the only way we’ll achieve that is by taking strike action to show the government that workers can’t wait," said the union's national president Chris Aylward.
The CRA has yet to comment on the developing strike action, but the Treasury Board Secretariat, the umbrella that a majority of employees striking are under, issued a statement saying that "while we recognize and respect the right to strike, a strike should always come as a last resort."
While these workers are on the picket line, Canadians could see delays and impacts on many government services.
According to PSAC, Canadians will see "a complete halt of the tax season; disruptions to employment insurance, immigration, and passport applications; interruptions to supply chains and international trade at ports; and slowdowns at the border."
Along with these services, there may be disruptions and delays in roughly 28 major governmental departments according to the feds.
These departments are:
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Canada
- Canada Border Service Agency
- Canada Economic Development Quebec
- Canada Revenue Agency
- Canada School of Public Service
- Canadian Coast Guard
- Canadian Heritage
- Canadian Northern Economic Development
- Canadian Transport Agency
- Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Global Affairs Canada
- Health Canada
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Library and Archives Canada
- Prairies Economic Development Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Public Safety Canada
- Public Service Commission of Canada
- Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Transport Canada
- Veterans Affairs Canada
The only things not affected are those deemed essential, such as employment insurance payments, Canada Pension Plan payments, Veteran's income support and Old Age Security, and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments.
Other essential services within departments like the RCMP, Coast Guard, Employment and Social Development, will remain in place.
However, administrative, public relations and other parts of the job could see partial, or even full, disruption.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.