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| Canada's border is 'unfriendly' - Wednesday, November 19, 2003 at 15:29 |
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PUBLICATION: The Leader-Post (Regina) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have crossed the borders of many countries during my lifetime. On three of these occasions, I been threatened and harshly treated by the border officials. I was born in Canada in 1925 and remained a citizen of that country until the early 1960s, so I take no pleasure in reporting that, at all of these times (June 1952, September 1986 and August 2003), I was seeking to enter Canada from the U.S. On Aug. 22 of this year I reached the entry port at Coronach, with my truck and travel trailer. I offered our travel documents for inspection, and we chatted with the officer on duty for a couple of minutes. I explained that we planned to visit our children and grandchildren, and he told me that he had immigrated to Canada from Germany. He asked to see inside our trailer, and I opened it for his inspection. He first confiscated a dozen eggs and an unopened carton of barbecued chicken, claiming that we could be importing an obscure chicken disease. He next asked me about firearms and, after I assured him that we had none, repeated this same question several times and with increasing forcefulness. I persisted in my denials, and he asked me to wait while he made further enquiries. While these were in progress, my wife and I were delayed at the border for over three hours. At one point, I entered the public waiting room of the station office, seeking some explanation, and was asked to leave and wait outside. I am recommending to various travel organizations that any of their members who contemplate travelling to Canada with their RVs should give serious thought before proceeding. Canada's border with the U.S.A. is not a friendly one for American visitors. John A. H. |