UPEI profs already starting to heed association's warning to avoid U.S. travel

Prince Edward Island's university professors and students are among those being warned to avoid travel to the United States, with stories being shared of Canadians running into trouble at the border.

Peter McInnis is a history professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia as well as the president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, which represents more than 72,000 professors at 125 universities across the country.  

"In our 75 years of existence, this is the first time we've issued such an advisory saying, 'If you don't have to go to the United States, don't,'" he said. 

McInnis said Canadians travelling as tourists are unlikely to face any additional difficulties, but that's not the case for academics.

"U.S. customs officials are scrutinizing professors and we're usually going there for work-related issues," he said, giving as examples attending conferences, doing research, or exchanging research with American colleagues.

It's not just Canadians who are being targeted, McInnis said.

"It's international, as the Americans are tightening their borders and specifically targeting groups they think are possibly trouble-makers or dissenters or not agreeing with their particular view, which includes us as academics."

Margot Rejskind, the executive director of UPEI's Faculty Association, said she has already changed some travel plans due to these risks.

"I personally would not travel to the United States at this point. I recognize that I'm involved in unions, I've been outspoken about EDI [equity, diversity and inclusion] topics and things like that," she said.

"I don't think they would take kindly to me right now, so I have actually changed my travel plans for this spring and I won't be attending some conferences."

Rejskind said she hasn't heard any personal horror stories from University of Prince Edward Island staff or students, but points out that the busiest season for travelling hasn't gotten started yet.

"The semester is just finishing so most people who might be going to cross the border for professional reasons will likely start to do that in May, June, July. That's really [when] the conference season really starts."

Dr. Jessica Strong, an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at UPEI, said the CAUT travel advisory was not surprising but still concerning.

"I felt a little bit down about it, being an American and having family there. Expected but yeah, a downer." 

Strong said she has already made travel plans that exclude the U.S.

"I actually have a sabbatical coming up this year so I had been making plans to be in Australia anyway," she said. "That kind of helped professionally, that I wasn't planning to go back."

Although U.S. customs agents are now in some cases checking electronic devices of Canadians seeking to enter the States for posts critical of the Trump administration's actions, Strong said that wouldn't deter her from speaking out.

"I think if anything, I would probably be more outspoken about acting against what's going on down there."

McInnis said he has heard a colleague from a university in Western Canada talking about ways of evading having personal devices searched at the border.

"Their university will provide burner phones — that is, kind of pre-paid phones with nothing on them and laptops that are stripped out of material, the least possible evidence that the U.S. officials can look at." 

McInnis said posts that are deemed "problematic" can lead to Canadians being denied entrance to the country.

I don't think it's alarmist on our part; we're doing our due diligence...It's risky and that's the legal opinion we're getting as well.— Peter McInnis, Canadian Association of University Teachers

"I don't think it's alarmist on our part; we're doing our due diligence," he said of the warning.

"It's risky and that's the legal opinion we're getting as well."

Rejskind said this is not just about Canadians travellers. 

"Some of our disciplines, including the veterinary school, [are] accredited through an American association, because our disciplines are small enough that in Canada it doesn't make sense to have their own," she said.

"Academic conferences, accreditations… getting your papers published — all of those things are affected by things that are going on in the U.S. right now."