I always plan on having my docs at least cursorily checked at the gate during boarding for any international flight. That is to assure that the individual boarding has the documents with him. There are innocent, e.g., people lose their passport and not so innocent problems. None matter, if a pax arrives at the international destination without proper docs., it is the carrier which is fined and tasked with returning the pax to the point of origin.

If you wound up in secondary on one occasion and were accused of "bad attitude" on another, you might consider just dealing with these things in a neutral manner. The line agents with whom you interface are not policy makers and are not going to change. If you want to kvetch to AC, border authorities or whomever, that is fine. But, in the moment, simply produce what you are asked to produce and leave it alone.

For a later secondary to have been caused by your conduct, it would have had to have been recorded by AC and forwarded to Canadian and/or US authorities. That's a lot of work.

UA doesn't do it either.

I wonder if this is an airline-imposed check or if TC mandates it.

But they don't always know the policy, and if they are wrong, it can be very inconvenient. Collecting the I94 is a good example (and I may be wrong, but I interpret the comment about going to secondary to mean that the OP needed to get a new I94, not that s/he has a flag on his/her file). Lots of AC agents think they are supposed to collect I94s from all outbound passengers who have them. This is simply incorrect. So "simply produce what you are asked to produce and leave it alone" is very unhelpful advice.

FWIW, I had two ways of dealing with the I94 issue when leaving the US on AC. The first was simply to pocket the form before showing my passport. The second was to ask the customs agent who issued the form to write on it "MULTIPLE USE; NOT TO BE REMOVED BY AIRLINE". They obviously knew why I was asking, and would sometimes write this in red pencil so there was no mistaking it. Then when the DCA agent tried to remove it, I would show him the official remark. (I often wondered about a third way, which was to write this myself on the I94)

The first check is the mandated Doc Check to ensure you have proper ID and can enter Canada...

The second check as you board is to ensure that the Passport/ID actually makes it on to the plane with you (and isn't left behind for someone else or forgotten, which would deny you entry to Canada).

I was on a US Airways flight where we were stopped at the gate at YYZ for about a half hour while they determined that everyone on the plane had proper ID (1 person did not, for whatever reason, and was escorted directly from the plane). It's the airline's expense to take that person back where they belong...

That being said, you CAN fly to Canada on an expired Canadian passport - you just can't leave again until it's been renewed (as I found out once...)

Often1, my problem with the gate agents is that they are the last word (the way only front line bureaucrats can be) when it comes to a issue when that agent is patently in error. And that error will cost me tangible wasted time / cost.

SYM is right, I meant that I had to go to secondary on the next CAN->US trip to get a new I94. And the CBP agent told me that the agent at DCA was flat out wrong. (And that piece actually had a "Multiple Entry" stamp -- but not "do not remove"-- on it, yet the DCA agent still took it.) That additional I94 visit took an hour of my life and I was lectured by the CBP about the DCA' gate agent's mistake.
And the SFO agent this time tried to force me check a carry on that actually fits in the metal grill 20 min prior to commencing boarding (so no excuse about bins-full). If I hadn't objected, I would have to wait ~X min for the carry on to come through baggage claim. (I say "X", because those things vary widely based on luck)


I thank the other posters for their experiences though.^ From now on, I will start re-printing boarding pass at airport wherever I can. Hopefully it will avoid future unpleasantness.

Document Checking at Gate
 

I've been told by various AC employees that there are some "rules" re checking pax docs to which they must adhere or they will be fined by the U.S. I have no proof or knowledge, but maybe those more Super-Duper than I have some insight into this answer.

While i prefer to be optimistic, "future unpleasantness" and "flying" are first cousins

Agree. Reprint your bp at the kiosk by using your passport to trigger the transaction ie have the kiosk read your ppt and not your AE card or credit card.
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13F

Or get a NEXUS card if you are eligible.

Which is especially stupid when they do this at pre-clearance departure points where you've just cleared US immigration :rolleyes:

If the doc check is at pre-clearance terminal during boarding, the airline is complying with transport canada regulation that all passengers present id to the gate agent. However, at the gate, any govt issued id is sufficient, so you can give the agent your Hawaii or Arizona drivers license and it is acceptable as passport.

The Canadian gate agent doc check is equivalent to the TSA doc check in the USA.

Most of the AC gate agents will insist on a passport - I've had too many run-ins over the years when I show my US drivers license and now I'm running into this nonsense about filling in a contact card (no US carrier requires this, and the only US DOT regulation requests the OPTIONAL collection of next-of-kin information for international flights) with info that is none of anyone's business when I show my US passport.

I've found some middle ground with my Nexus card as photo ID, but the whole thing is just silly.

You're always going to run into a person, in any walk of life, who is in a position of "authority" but is not as intimately aware of the details as you are; It might be a gate agent, a boarder guard, a manager at work, or your mother-in-law.

If a GA asks for the passport, why not just show it to them? If you don't have the patience to educate the person, and need to vent here about the whole process, it would save you a lot of stress. We still need to have the passport in our possession when we use Nexus / GE.... So why not just show the passport?

When I still had the paper I-94, I never had issues when I simply explain to the GA that 'I am on a TN-type visa which allows for multiple entry. Please do not take the I-94'; I've had some minor pushback but state I'm willing to accept the fallout from CBP during my next entry (SYM's answer to write on the card with red pencil is brilliant!).

What I've had the most difficulty with in the past, is the entry into the US from non-CDN ports. The 1st line CBP does not have the TN info available on his/her screen which automatically kicks you to secondary for not "having the proper paperwork" - which isn't necessary for the TN. But as the 1st line screener they can't physically see the specific requirements on their screen I get kicked to secondary - happened in LAX, SFO and IAD. So I wait in secondary for an hour or two, only to have my passport handed back without comment and I'm free to now attempt to re-book my connection.

Nexus / GE is worth every penny just to bypass the inefficiencies of the crossing-boarder systems (and avoid that infuriating secondary....)

Indeed, any Canadian has a right of return to Canada and a little known secret is that a Canadian does not need a passport per se to return home so long as they can prove their citizenship by other means that is consistent with CIC records.

A little late to the party, but:

This is exactly my approach. Way more often than not, there's an ID check at the gate... What's the problem?

This ^