STUDENTS AT THE BORDER

This appeared in the Toronto Star. Although the newspaper characterizes this in a positive light and as a "feel good" story highlighting student employment, there is much more to this than stated: for many years CBSA has hired summer students. Lawyers have always been very concerned about "student officers". Students working at CBSA act as "designated officers", take notes, and conduct initial interviews of applicants for a variety of immigration programs. Although the majority of cases are uneventful, many are not, and lawyers regularly hear accounts from clients applying for visas and work permits that are seen by obviously inexperienced offers who take a long time with them, go back and forth for consultation with superiors, pass on information that is not always accurate and result in unjustified decisions. There aer also privacy concerns, despite what the article states. Students often recount stories of their job experiences as a "badge of honour", and this could be even more so in cases such as this where students are given some power, uniforms that look like those of police or military, and even some self-defence tools Further, if there is one place where we need experienced, seasoned and thoroughly trained people is at the border. I do not think that this program is a good idea. Students should be limited to work behind the scenes in strictly supervised environments, and not to interact with the public where decisions are so important.


Students guard Canada’s borders - thestar.com