I'm with Simon on this one.

I have never understood why returning Canadians are subject to regular intrusive questioning. It seems to be unique amongst developed nations.

I submit that Australia actually has tighter controls than Canada but without the annoying interrogations.

When entering Oz, your first point of contact is an immigration official whose main purpose is to establish your eligibility to enter the country. As an Australian it involves presenting your passport and getting waved through.

But... the Customs and Quarantine card that you fill in before entering the country is far more detailed than the Canadian one and leaves little wriggle room if you are telling lies. The Australians seem more interested in stopping bad cooties from getting in the country and don't care as much if you bought an extra pair of socks while visiting your granny in the UK. The Canadians seem fixated on trying to find out exactly what you bought in every shop you went into. That's really annoying.

After you collect your luggage you pass through customs and quarantine where everything is x-rayed. If you lied on the card, you will get done here. A big fine or possibly worse. Everybody knows the process and if you want to take the risk.... chances are you are an idiot.

In reality, the Australian system is far more intrusive..... but in effect, it is just so much more pleasant to have to deal with. I have never even met one officer here from either Customs or Quarantine who was on any kind of power trip. Just mostly decent people doing their job. If they catch you... you're stuffed... but no power tripping that I've observed.

Perhaps it is the climate.

MCM.