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Originally Posted by CBSAguy
(Post 9553289)
Haven't tried to "trip" anyone up in my years with Customs/CBSA, but I have had tons of drug seizures and other things. At least 90% of those were the direct result of questioning.
Whether HM Customs or CBSA does a better job is not something I can comment on with as much authority as you apparently can. You've done a study, or...? those people are definitely a threat. everyone's a threat. a threat to themselves. those nutritional supplements i purchased in washington state are a huge threat. they contain a 0.1% concentration of a substance that health canada banned in 1982. obviously, it's harmful in canada, but once you go south 30km, it will magically be of no harm. we must look up to the brave and wise men and women of CBSA when they work flights between their tv watching and azz scratching. imagine it... we can do radio ads like bud-light! -someone needs help at the counter? sorry miss.... all 12 of us are about to work a half full RJ coming in from SLC. -you're from poland, look lost, and need help finding someone meeting you outside the port? sorry boss, we're in the middle of our hockey pool draft. -why help a pax whose been waiting in line 45 minutes when you can yell at him, threaten him, or just get up and ignore him? if your agency and the dopes that work for it want some respect, they have to earn it, troll. |
The Winger is spot on. I was also asked in secondary what I did for a living and specificially why I was travelling to said spot when I returned to Vancouver after a trip to Las Vegas. Was even asked for business cards by officer and didn't have any. They just finished up their check of my laptop and camera..and sent me on my way. :D
Sanosuke! |
Originally Posted by The Winger
(Post 9557409)
I would say I get asked who I work for or what I do for a living 50% of the time returning to Canada, unless my family is with me.
In general I've found the YYZ CBSA to be rude and fond of long, inane, repetitious interrogations, including bizarre personal questions and weird attempts at humour. And they always, always sent me to secondary. YUL, on the other hand, are usually pretty sensible and to the point - and they've never sent me to secondary once. (Aha ! Obviously that's where all the drugs and weapons are getting in !) One thing I've noticed is that half of the YYZ agents look about 16 years old (interns ? does CBSA have interns ?) whereas the YUL agents are almost exclusively grownups. PS. Fair play to the OP for publicly outing himself as a CBSA henchperson in this forum. Don't know that I would have cared to do it. ;) |
Originally Posted by nolens volans
(Post 9557775)
I used to get this all the time too, back in the pre-NEXUS days. Or once, more bluntly, "Where did you get the money for your ticket ?" :confused: :rolleyes:
In general I've found the YYZ CBSA to be rude and fond of long, inane, repetitious interrogations, including bizarre personal questions and weird attempts at humour. And they always, always sent me to secondary. YUL, on the other hand, are usually pretty sensible and to the point - and they've never sent me to secondary once. (Aha ! Obviously that's where all the drugs and weapons are getting in !) One thing I've noticed is that half of the YYZ agents look about 16 years old (interns ? does CBSA have interns ?) whereas the YUL agents are almost exclusively grownups. PS. Fair play to the OP for publicly outing himself as a CBSA henchperson in this forum. Don't know that I would have cared to do it. ;) |
Originally Posted by fly_yag
(Post 9552789)
One thing that I've always wondered was why there can't be a line for Canadians and one for all other nationalities? Doing this would let Canadians speed through and not have to wait for foreigners with visa problems, communication difficulties, etc. Many other countries in the world have some sort of system like this set up and it seems to make a lot of sense.
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Originally Posted by cur
(Post 9557097)
YYZ T1 are great. majority are middle aged and experienced, but the students have extreme attitude.
YVR is full of young and extremely cocky prima-donnas, demonstrated by wearing slash-proof gloves when assigned to the decleration card collecting task, or by constantly getting up and walking away from PIL in the middle of flights. ... do these kids think they are? but otherwise OK YYC either great or awful. There's such a huge disparity between chilled out male BSOs and extremely aggressive female BSOs. YWG is full of old agents months away from retirement, either burned out omega males or feisty alpha females. iPIL, standing for Integrated Primary Inspection Line is an awful piece of software that the officer at primary uses. it compares the name on the passport to customs and immigration lookout lists, most of these lists which contain poorly documented or extremely outdated names. So if you're Bobby Clark and B Clark had 5kg of cocaine seized through the mail stream in 1980, you'd run into a situation of false or missed positive. this god awful software does in fact summon forced random inspections and the officer at PIL will have no choice but to hit the "refer" button. 1. Most of us wear gloves of some sort, either tacky blue rubber gloves or the leather gloves they issue us, when collecting the cards at the exit. It does not demonstrate cockiness in the least. We wear gloves because some travellers like to keep their declaration cards either in their mouths or in their sweaty shirt pockets. It's disgusting. 2. With regard to IPIL, we absolutely do have choice in hitting refer or release for the random referrals. Personally, I release most of my IPIL random referrals. And, as I said before, it's the folks at the exit who have the final say. 3. Again with IPIL, the system only hits on 99-100% matches. Generally, that means surname, given name, and birthday all have to match 100% before the system hits. It works quite well actually. |
Originally Posted by guessaaa
(Post 9557993)
I haven't paid attention lately since I use NEXUS, but I remember that at least at YVR, the left-most desks are Canadian citizens and residents only, and the right-most desks were everyone else plus Canadian citizens and residents. It might have changed since though.
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Originally Posted by cur
(Post 9557172)
you have different dynamics. the EU's imm philosophy is, well, relaxed, towards canadians.
then you have the US where you have officers who work for CBP as a CAREER, unlike CBSA where it's a step up for a 20-something to a job with the mounties. so you'll inevitably get more trained and experienced officers with CBP, and a trained and experience officer realizes that 99% of the people they see are compliant and not a threat. and then you deal with CBP officers at a pre-clearance, which is GRAVY for the CBP officers because they don't need to carry anything on their belt (no guns, no cuffs, nothing, except maybe the remote car starter when it's -40c), they don't have to do arrests because CBSA or the police will do that for them. they also get paid VERY well (almost double their salary working back home) because they're considered government agents performing government tasks abroad, so therefore, they get "danger pay" and "living expense" pay. so combine the additional pay with fewer tasks, not to mention a flight schedule that is very predictable, and the officers who get selected for that are very senior and very well respected, you will get CBP officers who not only experienced and professional, but in a good mood. then CBSA officers work for an agency that is flawed at so many levels, with co-workers who were originally hired to count heads of cattle or sit behind a window doing paperwork, with tons of new recruits, and a corporate culture of "don't rock the boat, do as you are told, don't ask questions, don't try doing anything differently, and everything will be fine", combined with a very poor public image (people see rev canada in a higher light than our border law enforcers according to that globe & mail survey a year ago or so), you have officials here who are idiots. Interesting, you find that granting a foreign government the right to your fingerprints and background information less intrusive than a verbal question from a BSO? I prefer the "know your rights" thing a lot more than the "how is that appropriate?" line. Remember, you are ENTITLED admittance into Canada without obstruction if you are a Canadian citizen and they have no reasonable doubt that you are Canadian. They cannot restrict that RIGHT from you. You can enter into Canada with nothing more than a "I am a Canadian citizen, I would like to seek re-admittance here". However, your GOODS are subject to search under ANY circumstances. They do not need cause or ANYTHING. (in fact, the RCMP uses that government right to get BSOs to perform intelligence gathering on suspected criminals/organized crime members/etc.) So remember that when you are at primary and secondary. They can't ask you anything about your-self, but they certainly can ask you about your-stuff. It still doesn't mean you have to answer, but answering may mitigate enforcement action on their part. However, they can't ask you what you do for a living, who pays your bills, how much income you earn, or if you have a criminal record under any circumstances (although you will most likely "be in the system" for the latter). If you're asked those questions, get the badge number and report it to the superintendent, chief, and your MP. That's a huge violation of your rights. A police officer that encounters you on the street has no right to ask you those questions, and a BSO definitely does not either. Sometimes the personal stuff will bridge into the goods stuff, so feel free to ask for clarification as to why they need that information. They could be guising it as a customs question when really they are going to write it down and send it to CSIS & the RCMP as per their request (or the BSO can fire it off to the CBSA intelligence division at their own choosing). Your goods are 0 or 1, legal or illegal, they don't need you to tell them where you got it or how you got it. Only answer questions pertaining to your goods if it will mitigate yourself from sanctioning (eg. "I previously imported these jeans" "I acquired this lawfully from a gift shop"). Majority of customs seizures in Canada are made because the officer managed to twist the arm of the client enough to make that client confess. If they need to twist your arm, it's because they lack proof (normally, it's the receipt). If they want to seize stuff from you, they wouldn't need your testimony. If you're complaint, you don't need to say anything, although saying "I was in SFO on a 4 day vacation with the wife and I got this coffee from the food store" is of a much greater cost-benefit-ratio than saying "f-you, here's my luggage, i'll be sitting over there reading chateline", as much as you are legally entitled to do it. Remember, your duty under the law is to present your self in order to verify your identity. Once there is no question that you are in fact the person named on that document and that you are in fact a Canadian citizen, your only duty from therein is to present your goods. PRESENT your goods, not PRESENT AND EXPLAIN your goods. In theory, you can leave your bags at secondary for them to search and you can walk out the port if you so choose. They can't stop you unless they have concerns about goods on or about your body. As a Canadian, you are only accountable in helping the BSO verify your identity and citizenship and presenting your goods. Most of my colleagues plan to be with CBSA for many, many years. There is no talk around the lunchroom of who's applying to the RCMP, etc. In fact, I can't recall the last person to leave YYZ for a position with the RCMP. DFAIT and other government departments, yes. Most consider CBSA a career and take it seriously. Apparently too seriously for some. |
Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 9558016)
It's all one line at least since the beginning of March. Maybe in January too.
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Originally Posted by shore9
(Post 9557931)
My friend worked as an immigration agent at YYZ last summer. Apparently they hire a lot of them for the summer.
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Originally Posted by nolens volans
(Post 9557775)
I used to get this all the time too, back in the pre-NEXUS days. Or once, more bluntly, "Where did you get the money for your ticket ?" :confused: :rolleyes:
In general I've found the YYZ CBSA to be rude and fond of long, inane, repetitious interrogations, including bizarre personal questions and weird attempts at humour. And they always, always sent me to secondary. YUL, on the other hand, are usually pretty sensible and to the point - and they've never sent me to secondary once. (Aha ! Obviously that's where all the drugs and weapons are getting in !) One thing I've noticed is that half of the YYZ agents look about 16 years old (interns ? does CBSA have interns ?) whereas the YUL agents are almost exclusively grownups. PS. Fair play to the OP for publicly outing himself as a CBSA henchperson in this forum. Don't know that I would have cared to do it. ;) |
Originally Posted by cur
(Post 9557172)
Remember, you are ENTITLED admittance into Canada without obstruction if you are a Canadian citizen and they have no reasonable doubt that you are Canadian. They cannot restrict that RIGHT from you. You can enter into Canada with nothing more than a "I am a Canadian citizen, I would like to seek re-admittance here". However, your GOODS are subject to search under ANY circumstances. They do not need cause or ANYTHING. (in fact, the RCMP uses that government right to get BSOs to perform intelligence gathering on suspected criminals/organized crime members/etc.) So remember that when you are at primary and secondary. They can't ask you anything about your-self, but they certainly can ask you about your-stuff. It still doesn't mean you have to answer, but answering may mitigate enforcement action on their part. However, they can't ask you what you do for a living, who pays your bills, how much income you earn, or if you have a criminal record under any circumstances (although you will most likely "be in the system" for the latter). If you're asked those questions, get the badge number and report it to the superintendent, chief, and your MP. That's a huge violation of your rights. A police officer that encounters you on the street has no right to ask you those questions, and a BSO definitely does not either. Sometimes the personal stuff will bridge into the goods stuff, so feel free to ask for clarification as to why they need that information. They could be guising it as a customs question when really they are going to write it down and send it to CSIS & the RCMP as per their request (or the BSO can fire it off to the CBSA intelligence division at their own choosing). Your goods are 0 or 1, legal or illegal, they don't need you to tell them where you got it or how you got it. Only answer questions pertaining to your goods if it will mitigate yourself from sanctioning (eg. "I previously imported these jeans" "I acquired this lawfully from a gift shop"). Majority of customs seizures in Canada are made because the officer managed to twist the arm of the client enough to make that client confess. If they need to twist your arm, it's because they lack proof (normally, it's the receipt). If they want to seize stuff from you, they wouldn't need your testimony. If you're complaint, you don't need to say anything, although saying "I was in SFO on a 4 day vacation with the wife and I got this coffee from the food store" is of a much greater cost-benefit-ratio than saying "f-you, here's my luggage, i'll be sitting over there reading chateline", as much as you are legally entitled to do it. Remember, your duty under the law is to present your self in order to verify your identity. Once there is no question that you are in fact the person named on that document and that you are in fact a Canadian citizen, your only duty from therein is to present your goods. PRESENT your goods, not PRESENT AND EXPLAIN your goods. In theory, you can leave your bags at secondary for them to search and you can walk out the port if you so choose. They can't stop you unless they have concerns about goods on or about your body. As a Canadian, you are only accountable in helping the BSO verify your identity and citizenship and presenting your goods. No person shall, physically or otherwise, do or attempt to do any of the following: (a) interfere with or molest an officer doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act; or (b) hinder or prevent an officer from doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act. And, by the way, I really do appreciate the 95% of Canadian citizens, PRs, and other residents who I meet on a daily basis who have nothing to hide and who appreciate the job we do. It's really amazing how quick and easy things can be with a little cooperation. I haven't had a complaint against me yet, but I have received many thanks from those I've dealt with over my time. |
Food question:
- the purpose of having a general question is to prevent a situation where someone could check one box (chocolate) and not another box (coffee) and then when it's discovered he has coffee then he can claim he didn't lie because he did have chocolate (and he checked the chocolate box). - a prohibition on some items (soil, roots, etc) is one thing. Can someone explain the (environmental or agricultural) harm that could possibly be caused by any form of meat product? - The USA is imposing a $5 processing fee just to deal with the fictional issue of travellers bring food to eat on the plane (while there is no explanation for the fact that once I pass through US customs in YYZ I can buy food from an airport vendor and take it on the plane with me, including fruit). Will transport canada impose a similar fee for an "agricultural inspection" ? - what exactly is the duty rate for alchohol beyond your personal limit? General questions: - At US airports, there are immigration lines specifically signed for US residents and citizens. Why can't there be something similar at Canadian airports? - It's been mentioned that there is no ID asked for on the CDN customs card that's handed in at the airport, but that they always scan your passport. At land crossings, upon return to Canada (at least Detroit/Windsor) I've rarely ever had my passport scanned, and most times the agent doesn't even take it out of my offering hand. Why the difference in policy? - A better system needs to be worked out (on both sides of the border) for sales people that travel with demo items. Carne's were the answer a hundred years ago - not today (not that I've ever used a carne, but I've looked into them and they are a nightmare). - I've encountered a situation once or twice (bording a plane to AMS for example) where there are CBS people on the jetway. Does CBS have the legal authority to force Canadian citizens to submit to an interview upon DEPARTURE FROM CANADA ??? Interesting story: This goes back to the late 1980's. A friend of a friend who had just graduated from university was claiming UI. While on UI, he took a trip to the states (vacation, florida, etc). Naturally he filled out a customs card upon return. Well guess what - UI finds out about the vacation and claws back some UI. How did UI know? The only answer was the customs card. Other stuff: I used to cross land border between US/CAN by car back in the eary 90's (mostly to buy gasoline) and the one thing I learned was to keep the story simple, vaguely true, and always look into the agent's eyes during the encounter. Also, for those that travel from Can into USA (assuming you're CDN) - never never never say that you are going there to do something like perform a service or work in some manner. For example, about 1/2 dozen times a year I travel to the US to do sales support, equipment training, etc. I always say that I've got a sales meeting with a prospect (at the place I'm really going to). About half the time I really do have a sales meeting, but the other half is really a support, training, or equipment installation. And finally, (this was more of an issue in the late 80's, early 90's), never say you're going to the US to shop your resume around or that you have job interviews. I know of some university grads at the time that had their stuff searched for copies of their resumes, and it was common for US agents to ask young CND's if they had copies of their resume's with them on their way to spring break vacation. And above all else, know this: The US Congress has made it the job of US immigration/customs to KEEP YOU OUT OF THE USA. You are let in at the agent's discretion, but it's not like you have a right to enter and the agent has to make a case to keep you out. Every time they've let someone in, it demoralizes them. Just like it's demoralizing to be CATSA and to NEVER NEVER NEVER find a gun or a weapon at a screening checkpoint. Imagine a cop who never writes a ticket, who never arrests anyone, etc. The human-factors issues surrounding jobs like customs and security at airports is bizzare if not natural. It's one reason why the motivation was so high to tazer that Polish guy in Vancouver. I bet they thought they were nabbing the next Mohammed Atta. And for those of you Nexus people - sure it's all nice and cozy that you can sail through US customs. But just remember that some US lawyer in Seattle was put through the meat grinder a few years ago because someone found his fingerprints on one of the bags in the Spain train bombing. I don't need my fingerprints in some US database, waiting for a false-positive match to royally screw up my life. |
Originally Posted by CBSAguy
(Post 9558479)
No doubt I'll be accused of power tripping or trying to be tough guy or something along those lines. Nonetheless, here, for your reading pleasure is section 153.1 of the Customs Act: the offence of hindering an officer.
No person shall, physically or otherwise, do or attempt to do any of the following: (a) interfere with or molest an officer doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act; or (b) hinder or prevent an officer from doing anything that the officer is authorized to do under this Act. And, by the way, I really do appreciate the 95% of Canadian citizens, PRs, and other residents who I meet on a daily basis who have nothing to hide and who appreciate the job we do. It's really amazing how quick and easy things can be with a little cooperation. I haven't had a complaint against me yet, but I have received many thanks from those I've dealt with over my time. |
Originally Posted by Simon
(Post 9558849)
Still no answer on why CBSA have to be so rude/unfriendly and ask so many inane questions compared to how the EU and US treat their citizens on return to their home countries...
One person calls it inane, the other sensible. Perhaps, just a theory, they thought you were rude and deliberatly with-holding information. Both of which can be used in court as indicators of a suspcious traveller. |
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