Musical Border Crossing

[Francis Fougere]

Hi Tim et all
For my two cents I have generally found the opposite. As a Canadian who has
sailed an Olympic class boat competitively in both the US and Canada I have
crossed the border numerous times with a boat and a truck of gear, sails
etc. I have found that the borders were manned at cross purposes. In the US
the border guards are primarily concerned about security, even before 911.
In Canada they are primarily tax collectors and before 911 they actually
were Excise and Revenue officers. Talk about folks who get up on the wrong
side of the bed every day. Garrison Keelor explains about why he will never
ever again do a concert in Canada and it's a border crossing nightmare over
import issues of equipment. In my experiences I only ever had one problem
with one US border guard in Detroit because my passport was in a bag in the
back of my pickup truck and not on my person. Almost every Canadian border
crossing has been some form of a hassle. Since 911 the Canadian border
guards have added some security issues to their mandate just to please the
Americans. To be fair though I have been waived through by both sides many
times but it's always the times that you are hassled that stick in memory.
Francis Fougere


-----Original Message-----
From: cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca [mailto:cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca] On Behalf
Of Tim Jaques
Sent: February 14, 2009 7:35 AM
To: cbmusic at locals.ca
Subject: Re: Musical Border Crossing


Mounties don't handle immigration and border stuff in Canada.  At big
crossings they are sometimes there for security, drug matters, etc. but as
in the US the harassment of hapless travelers is left to specialized
agencies.   In addition,  the RCMP are often slaves to political correctness
and preposterous policies to an absurd degree, and the biggest problem is
actually to get them to act on anything.  However,  I've never found them
rude.  

I have to say that the people at the US border are probably the most
off-handedly obnoxious civil servants I've encountered anywhere.  I have
come to believe that only persons terribly unhappy with themselves and their
place in the cosmos, can be considered for that job. But yes, anyone
crossing the border is well advised to have all paperwork in order.  Even
then, some extremely ill-tempered or stupid individuals can cause problems.
I guess that's the same for every aspect of life.

 
Timothy Jaques
Dalhousie, NB
"We live in a free country where people have as much right to express
outrageous and ridiculous opinions as moderate ones."   Mr. Justice Ian
Binnie, WIC Radio Ltd. v. Simpson, 2008 SCC 40.


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