The 10k rule is so horribly misunderstood. It's for MONEY LAUNDERING PURPOSES ONLY. It's not for the tax man, it's not for the EI investigators. It's for FINTRAC. Nothing else. Asking the 10k question via the air stream is stupid, and you should reply by telling them to read the card. Then you should ask them if they are new. They're obviously new if they're asking you a question that was asked and documented on the piece of paper in front of them.
People smuggle large amounts of currency through the airports all the time. It's not stupid; it's enforcing the law as enacted by Parliament.
There is no declaration card for export purposes, so when we rove departing flights, you can't really tell the officer to look at the card. And, as for asking the question at primary, I do it sometimes (depending on the flight), even if it's answered on the card. A large percentage of people either do not read the questions or cannot read the questions due to a language barrier. I've saved a few people from currency seizures.