More Organizations Advise Avoiding US Travel

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has issued an advisory to its members regarding travel to the United States.

A notice on its website states “CAUT strongly recommends that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary,” given the rapidly evolving political landscape and amid reports of people encountering difficulty at border crossings. 

• It highlights who should be particularly cautious when deciding to travel transborder, including: 
• Citizens or residents of a country identified in media reports as likely to be subject to a travel ban.
• Citizens or residents of a country where there are diplomatic tensions with the U.S.
• Travellers with passport stamps evidencing recent travel to countries that may be subject to a travel ban or where there are diplomatic tensions with the U.S.
• Those who have expressed negative opinions about the current U.S. administration or its policies.
• Those whose research could be seen as being at odds with the position of the current U.S. administration.
• Travellers who identify as transgender or whose travel documents indicate a sex other than their sex assigned at birth.

CAUT is far from the only organization expressing the need for members to carefully consider the need to travel to the U.S. Bloomberg reports that members of the Arts faculty at Waterloo University are offered clean laptops — devices that can remotely access resources with minimal personal information retained for all travel. 

Meanwhile, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) has issued similar advice. A memo to staff from CHEO president and CEO Vera Etches reportedly recommends travel to the U.S. be avoided. “Due to the escalation of issues and volatility in the U.S., CHEO strongly encourages individuals to refrain from travel to that country at this time,” the memo said, according to CTV News.  If the crossborder trip is essential, CHEO advises staff to log out of any hospital applications, ensure there is no patient information on their electronic devices and to change passwords following any search by border agents. Using a burner phone is also recommended by CHEO. 

Bloomberg also reports that Alberta Investment Management Corp (Aimco), a public pension fund, has ended non-essential business trips to the U.S., including speaking engagement and attending conferences. Board meetings and investor meetings however fall into the essential category. 

The Canadian government recently updated its travel advice for U.S.-bound travellers. While failing to move the security level from the green/“take normal security precautions” category, it did expand the information for travellers regarding the new requirement for those staying longer than 30 days to register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and about the rights of U.S. border agents to search electronic devices.

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