Originally Posted by
pilot007
Came across this
article in the Washington Post.
Interview with the journalist at
CBC.
One of the comments in the CBC link mentions that he could have walked away without turning over his phones as this was a pre-clearance area. Is that possible? What do you guys think?
I'm assuming this is reasonably current. Yes, he could have simply withdrawn from preclearance unless the CBP agent suspected the traveler of an "offence." It sounds like the CBP guy was on a fishing expedition and couldn't detain him for a real reason.
Right of traveller to leave preclearance area
10 (1) Every traveller has the right, at any stage of the preclearance process, to leave a preclearance area without departing for the United States, unless a preclearance officer informs the traveller that the officer suspects on reasonable grounds that the traveller has committed an offence under section 33 or 34.
It doesn't say "Canadian citizen." It says "every traveler" which means that even a U.S. or third-party citizen could withdraw.
Section 33: Deceptive Statements.
Section 34: Obstruction.
There was a new international agreement signed in 2015, but I don't see a reference to a new Canadian law other than the 1999 Preclearance Act, which I posted above.
This presentation from April 2016 would suggest that the right of a traveler to withdraw is, thankfully, still intact (chart 7).