Cur is the man/woman! Thank goodness someone can so clearly say what a bunch of us think. I love that post!

Is this why I am sometimes asked to "prove" that I was on a business trip? Or is the agent just trying to get me mad? Because this happens to me time after time. "Where are you coming from today?" " er.... Orlando" (come on, I'm not the only one who forgets where I just was.) "Why were you there?" "I was at a conference called TechEd." "And how does that consititute a business trip?" <glare at me a little, like come on, you're a GIRL, you went to a conference with TECH in its name, and sure, you're carrying the attendee bag and the two guys before you carrying the same bag said they were at TechEd too, but glare glare you couldn't have a business reason> "I own a computer consulting company." "OK, thanks" <stamp things>. Leaving me completely puzzled.

That question "how is THAT a business trip" "why would THAT be business for you" etc happens to me just about every time. I really don't know why. I'm coming HOME. You have to let me in. Is it that proving it is a business trip makes my lack of purchases acceptable? Is the world full of people who say it was a business trip when it wasn't, and whose defenses crumble in the face of that single question?

I agree CBSA is asking way too many questions to Canadian citizens, most of which should be none of their business. I generally feel more welcomed in Europe or Asia than when I fly back to my own country

Personally, I have entered Canada over the years as a foreign visitor residing in the US, residing in Europe, and eventually as a Canadian citizen and it has been my impression that I am asked most questions as a Canadian citizen, which I find particularly odd. Now this is my particular experience, and this has occurred in sequence therefore I do not know if it reflects the reality but I would tend to agree with Cur that there is something definitely wrong here.

However, the CBSA agents are not the ones who set up those policies, therefore I am not sure there is a point in fighting this with them directly.

Instead, I would suggest writing to the CBSA Advisory Committee and cc. your constituency's member of parliament.

I beg to differ the Ozzie style. DO you know how many Canadians have been doubly scrutinized by the Australian immigration... ?

My passport has been fine everywhere except in Australia for some reason. My last visit through Sydney, they want to see my "ID" even with my passport in hand. I gave them D/L, SIN, BCC but they kept saying no... in the end, they seemed happy to see my Canadian Citizenship card... which is ridiculous cos we don't use that as ID anywhere else. And not everyone has that!

And its not only people of asian origin who has problems going through australia. Seems that the way Canadian passports were made have had some problems.

Back to the OT, I have not had any problems so far through YYZ T1. I've been through YVR, YUL too and I find YYZ lacks "green" . Its too sterile. I like YUL! Very nice.

I happen to personally know the nurses and MD's (who all happen to be specialists) in the department that advises CBSA and other Federal departments.

Unless you actually know what you're talking about, I'd suggest you stay out of that subject area.

Was this a personal attack on me?

I'm way more dignified than that, cur.

Sanosuke!

Dignified or not, in his own unique way Cur raised some excellent points.

"Study", "Personal", or "Business" are all very vague and often require clarification for various reasons.

Regarding gloves, as far as I'm concerned, it's a health and safety issue. I wear them. That should really be of no concern to anyone but myself.

Regarding IPIL, I know how the system works. As for the rest of that paragraph, I'm afraid I don't follow your logic. You seem to be agreeing with me.

Regarding your admission that you get the "hindrance line" every fifth time through secondary, that's really saying a lot about your character and behaviour (I mean your acts of civil disobedience). Consider the fact that I have NEVER threatened to arrest ANYONE for hindering and I don't recall the last time I heard of a colleague arresting anyone for that offence.

Regarding your last paragraph above, the Supreme Court has ruled that we have a much lower expectation of privacy at the borders. I ask questions for a reason. We ask returning residents what type of work they do all the time. There are reasons for these questions that I will not get into.

Hear hear, CBSAguy!

Sanosuke!

Actually, Customs here in Canada *HAS* asked me for a business card and what I did for a living when I returned to YVR from a trip to LAS last year. And my home town is YYC They asked me _this_ in secondary. They also asked to search my camera and laptop. Go figure. It certainly proves that we are not immune to these types of searches at all. That is the reason for secondary!

Sanosuke!

i think he's just upset thats all

I'm really troubled by stories like this. What a Canadian was doing outside of Canada is no Canadian authority's business, unless there's a perfect profile for a sex tourist, which BSOs likely mis-interpret 9999/10000 times. When questioning gets like that, I would say "are you questioning my eligibility to go past those doors at the exit?"
Of course, cBSa guys would say it is a question pertaining to your goods. How your profession and which conference you visited pertains to the laptop and cellphone you are carrying beats the hell out of me. The cellphone and or laptop are legal or not. Being a luddite in possession of a laptop is not a crime and it doesn't provide any "indicators". If they were smart (and yes, there are smart BSOs out there), they would realize that the goods would speak for themselves. The business card for a tech company, the hotel bill at the same resort of a conference named on a lanyard in the luggage, the boarding passes matching the days of the hotel reservation, the corporate travel itinerary, and a laptop running linux speaks for itself and doesn't require questioning, except maybe "oh man, what happened to BSD?".
...whereas a liar would be obvious and subject to escalating of the progressive search, and yes, without the need for stupid questions. BSOs have this obsession with trying to catch people lying without any sort of incriminating physical evidence. Maybe cBSa guy could elaborate why new & stupid officers ask such irrelevant questions while performing customs inspections.

All of this being said, all six of my CBSA encounters this year have been great. Including the guy at PIL in YYZ T1 who told me that his wife would be better off with that prada purse than mine. 2007 was a very engaging year, however.
...it's still not as charming as that short bald guy in YYC CBP who keeps asking me to buy him lunch, or that medium height bald guy working the crew line who once told my wife to use the machines even though the hall was completely empty with 7 agents at PIL (half of them on their cellphones waiting for the shift to end) and only us in line, all because he doesn't want the responsibility of making a judgment call himself.
Maybe write to Stockwell Day and get him to expand the E311. And while they're at it, why not require all of us to submit to fingerprinting? Then that way StatsCan can get more information on us, because most Canadians are fine with it.
As a Canadian, how is this question at all important? Maybe as a topic of conversation at PIL to see what I'm really up to [ie: "how's school?", "got lots of defense contracts?", "how was the vacation", etc] , but even that is frivolous. Maybe cBSa guy can tell us the real reason: StatsCan use.

they can certainly inspect the contents on your camera. it's a good. just like a business card you are importing is a good. asking you for a card is pretty stupid of them, they can just come across it in an inspection of your goods. if they're asking for your consent, it's obviously because they are over-stretching their authority. if they wanted your business card, they would get your business card. i would never willingly give a card to a BSO. asking your career is not a matter pertaining to your goods. it's pertaining to your personal life. as a canadian, this is a non issue. it can't be asked. cops break rules all the time; it doesn't make their acts any more constitutional. BSOs over-stretch their authority repeatedly. i don't know why you are still disputing this fact. it's like you're filibustering on a commons vote to determine if the sky really is blue. your contributions on FT are great but you're really not making sense here. maybe you're assuming i'm saying BSos cannot ask anyone including non-permanent residents (eg: a Japanese citizen working in Canada on a visa) immigration related questions?

as i am the guy who takes the bottle of absolut from the bar to the cyber-cafe in the MLL all so i can hoard two work stations to myself (one playing solitaire, the other playing minesweeper and acting as a coaster for said bottle), i'd say my posts are in a more non-dignified kind of way

Now I'm really getting worried.....

I actually agree with Cur......

Scary!!

MCM.

Yep...