What a ridiculous conclusion. When I worked at the border I never felt threatened or unsafe and was very happy that we didn't have guns...and that was at Queenston Bridge. In Alberta it was not even a topic of occasional discussion even though we seized nearly a gun a day Having guns just raises the stakes. This has been a long-standing non-issue and they should promptly shelve this nonsense. Officers now carry pepper spray, have body armour and take self-defence courses. Plenty IMHO. Oh, and given some of the people that work at the border I would be a bit more nervous knowing there are guns there!!

As for de-emphasizing duty collection goes this is a positive. I thought it was insane to have to collect $3.48 for a 12 pack of beer - give it up and focus on what's important!