Musical Border Crossing

Mon Feb 16 14:01:40 AST 2009

Terri and I have driven across the border into and out of Maine a number of
times and have never had a problem going either direction.  We've also flown
into and out of Halifax numerous times as well without any difficulties.  

Will Richardson
Allen, TX

-----Original Message-----
From: cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca [mailto:cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca] On Behalf
Of Meg Sullivan
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:17 AM
To: cbmusic at locals.ca
Subject: Re: Musical Border Crossing

We have been going back and forth several times a year since way back in the
mid 1970's.  We have only been searched twice going into *Canada *In all
that time.

BUT we can share some horror stories about our Canadian friends who have
come down to visit us.  Almost every time they have been stopped at the US
side..searched..and at times taken to separate rooms and questioned. Their
cars were unpacked and searched..

I *NEVER* feel threatened by the border guards on the Canadian Side. Always
find them to be polite and accommodating. But when we come home ( or rather
) back to the US I find the guards to be abrupt and at times very
intimidating. One time they confiscated our dog's food..because of
Mad-Cow..but the food had been purchased in the US *BEFORE* we came.
Another time they wanted us to prove the children in the back seat were
ours..They made us lift up the sleeping bags to see in we had anyone hiding
in the back seat.  Ridiculous..yes..but since 9-11 understandable.

On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 11:19 AM, Candace Cooke <rpc at aol.com> wrote:

> I'm not a musician but as you all know, Mike and I go back and forth a
> couple times a year.  Most of the time we zoom through with no problems.
> But
> one time, we spent a lot of time in Halifax answering questions about why
> we
> come up so often, whether we were musicians, were we doing business in
Cape
> Breton etc.  It was a bit unnerving to say the least.
>
> Another time we were pulled aside and our documents were closely
> scrutinized
> going from Halifax to Austin.  Turns out when Mike had recently gotten his
> concealed handgun license (after being robbed at gunpoint on the way to
one
> of Natalie's shows).  That  put him on a list for the immigration to
> examine
> his documents.
>
> I came through Montreal several years ago with my mom who was 82 at the
> time.  They gave her a hard time and she had everything in order.
>
> Mexico can be a pain to go in and out of also. You just never know.
>
> Candy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca [mailto:cbmusic-bounces at locals.ca] On
> Behalf
> Of Lew Taylor
> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 10:05 AM
> To: cbmusic at locals.ca
> Subject: Re: Musical Border Crossing
>
> I have found that when people arrive at the border (whichever direction
you
> happen  to be heading) if you have your paperwork in order you may be
> questioned, and even in some instances have your vehicle searched, but you
> will be allowed to continue on your way.
>
> I have received many calls from artists who want to perform here in the
> states, but will outright tell me that they do not have all of their
> paperwork in order -- if they even have any at all.  The ECMA, at their
> annual meetings, give workshops to artists who wish to perform outside of
> Canada and the thing that they stress is -- HAVE YOUR PAPERWORK IN ORDER.
>  I
> feel bad for Mairi and for the people who wanted to see her perform
(myself
> included), but if her paperwork was complete, the guards would have had no
> choice (regardless of their personal feelings) but to let her continue.
> Most artists (at least the ones who want to perform here in the States)
get
> their work visas for a year.  They plan their trips and normally have no
> problems.
>
> This is not to say that the guards can't be complete ##$$@!@! but if your
> papers are OK -- there's not much they can do about it.  I will not soon
> forget the day that I spent 3 hours in the airport in Halifax (Canadian
> customs) having all of my bags searched, and whatever else they did while
I
> cooled my heels.
>
> Lew Taylor
> The Cape Cod Celtic Festival
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM, Francis Fougere <francis at fougere.ca
> >wrote:
>
> > 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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the
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-- 
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