Whatcom police reporting long traffic backups as people try to cross the Canadian border
Whatcom County police departments in Blaine and Sumas are reporting long traffic backups as people attempt to cross the border into Canada on Friday, Aug. 6.
The backups come on the day that Canada Border Services Agency employees were expected to begin a strike at Canada’s borders.
The Sumas Police Department was the first to report about the border slow downs. At 11:19 a.m. the department tweeted, “Traffic alert in Sumas. There are currently approximately 30-40 vehicles backed up on Sumas Ave, Garfield St, Cherry St and W. Garfield St due to an @CanBorderPAC work slowdown. Please be patient in town.”
A few minutes later, the Blaine Police Department tweeted, “SR 543 (northbound) is backed up from the border to the I-5 fwy off ramp (MP 275). The right lane of I-5 is also blocked in the area. Please use alternate routes as the traffic will get worse.”
A follow up tweet by Blaine police at 1:07 p.m. said traffic was now stretching back to exit 274.
The Washington State Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras at the border showed trucks lined up close to 7 p.m. and the agency said there was a 20-minute wait for general traffic and more than an hour for trucks.
Earlier, the cameras showed the backups at the Blaine truck crossing and in Sumas, as well as what appeared to be a backup on Guide Meridian north of Lynden, but no backup was shown along Interstate 5 (Peace Arch crossing) in Blaine.
According to a July 29 release from the Public Service Alliance of Canada — the union border service officers at Canada airports, land entry ports, marine ports, commercial ports of entry and postal facilities, inland enforcement officers, intelligence officers, investigators, trade officers, hearings officers and non-uniformed members — the union and the Canada Border Services Agency and Treasury Board Secretariat were set to resume negotiations that day.
“The government is clearly concerned about our strike mandate and the possibility of major disruptions at the border,” Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Chris Aylward said in the release. “We’re going back to the table with an open mind, but we’ve been crystal clear that if they want to avoid a strike, they need to bring a new mandate to address major workplace issues.”
The two sides bargained throughout the night Thursday and early Friday, according to a release Friday, and a press conference about any progress between the two sides scheduled for Friday has been delayed while negotiations continued.
The strike comes as Canada prepares to open its border to vaccinated American travelers who wish to cross the border for non-essential reasons beginning Monday, Aug. 9. The border between the two countries has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Whatcom police reporting long traffic backups as people try to cross the Canadian border."
