OT- Crossing into Canada

Submitted by Adrian on

Alright so this weekend I went snowboarding in pennsylvania with 4 other guys and then we decided to cross into canada for one of my buddies birtday. We got sent to immigration for a "random" search. They lined us up and passed the dog to sniff us. The dog barked at me and one of my other buddies. I have never took drugs in my life but somehow that dog sniffed me to have marajuana. One of the guys took me and searched me he tore up my wallet and check my phone calls, text messages and pictures. they then took us in a room to proccede with their search since they were convinced that we were guilty. Since I knew I was innocent I kinda got loud with them. In that room I was sitting down kind of slouched so officer asked me to sit up but since I just came from snowboarding I was kind of sore so I couldnt sit up really straight. He came picked me up and slammed me on seat. They hand searched every single one of our baggages which was a pick up truck full of wet smelly snowboard gear which i was happy they were wet and made their life hell. Im pretty sure they went through my laptop too since it was on. They stripped searched us then let us go since they didnt find anything. As we were leaving none of the officers that treated us like shit were around. I was wondering are they allowed to treat people like that and check their phones? We didnt even get an apology or anything. Can I somehow get them in trouble which I would love to do.

ShockFX

February 23rd, 2010 at 8:48 AM ^

"One of the guys took me and searched me he tore up my wallet and check my phone calls, text messages and pictures."

In the US, at least, this is not legal.

"Im pretty sure they went through my laptop too since it was on."

Neither is this (well, it's iffy), but I've heard of customs agents doing it.

EDIT: I mean, I know Canada is a sovereign nation and all, but you'd think they'd just have kicked you back to the US if you are US citizens.

Blue in Yarmouth

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:25 AM ^

First, since Canada is not the USA I am not sure you are right about these things not being legal. You me be (I am not saying you are wrong, but the rules aren't necessarily the same since it is a different country).

Second, I think the rules have changed in the last decade (since 9/11) as to the authority that border officals have in relation to what they can and can't do.

Just to be clear, I am not saying you are wrong, just wondering if things may have changed or simply be different country to country.

Lastly, to the OP: If you haven't learned through life experience that you don't get anywhere by being an ass to border officials, police etc let me enlighten you from years of experience......It pays to be nice and polite, trust me.

ShockFX

February 23rd, 2010 at 1:51 PM ^

As I said in the OP: "In the US, at least, this is not legal."

Additionally, I believe the EFF and ACLU (in the US) are (rightfully) flipping shit over customs starting to inspect the DIGITAL CONTENTS of laptops and phones. It's a slippery slope that relies on the concept of "entrance" to the US, when the internet makes this boundary so uncertain, at what point do customs agents search every packet sent at the ISP? It really is horseshit.

"Lastly, to the OP: If you haven't learned through life experience that you don't get anywhere by being an ass to border officials, police etc let me enlighten you from years of experience......It pays to be nice and polite, trust me."

+10000

These stories also make me wonder how the hell tons of heroin and cocaine make it into this country though.

Mi Sooner

February 23rd, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

you have no rights. even as a US citizen, your rights are, at best, minimal in the US customs area.

when i was going through customs a lot for another job years ago, i couldn't wait to get past the red line at DTW so that i WOULD be back on US soil. before the red line is literally a no mans land.

Mi Sooner

February 23rd, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

you have no rights. even as a US citizen, your rights are, at best, minimal in the US customs area.

when i was going through customs a lot for another job years ago, i couldn't wait to get past the red line at DTW so that i WOULD be back on US soil. before the red line is literally a no mans land.

Adrian

February 23rd, 2010 at 8:54 AM ^

What would be the point of lying on a blog where nobody knows you or has anything to prove? Yes this is all 100 percent true and I was interogated by 3 different guy and two of the guys went through my phone.

formerlyanonymous

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:28 AM ^

I believe you for the most part (your own biases aside), but to ask this just makes me laugh:

What would be the point of lying on a blog where nobody knows you or has anything to prove?

It's the internet, no one can prove you're lying. It's like trolls with MSU email addresses who come on here and start random threads about Forcier breaking his wrist. The internet isn't really a domain for truth. That's all I'm saying.

Baldbill

February 23rd, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^

Not sure if you have any grounds on 'punishing them'. I know it is difficult but if you have never done any drugs and they are searching for drugs, co-operate, don't give any attiude. The quicker they are done the quicker you can go. I have been searched before, I do what they ask and move on. I must look guilty or something.

willywill9

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 AM ^

Im pretty sure they went through my laptop too since it was on.

Your laptop should be password protected! Make your password F Canada, so when he asks, well...you know.

Did he find out about mgoblog? Is he reading this thread now?

In all seriousness, I'd say about 60% of the time, I have some sort of issue at the border. Never to this degree, but they once kept my friend's registration for his car. Which was a dandy to explain when we reached the NY/Canada border.

lbpeley

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:13 AM ^

You guys are snowboarders. A drug sniffing dog supposedly smelled something on you. I assume you're under 21 or else you wouldn't bother to hit Canada. You're surprised they searched every nook and cranny?

GOBLUE4EVR

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:29 AM ^

who crossed the border every other weekend as a kid(came to michigan to visit my dad)... i can tell you that the customs officers can be pricks... from what i have been told is that they are govenerment employees and have the right do whatever they want... in the time that i've been able to drive myself across the border i've been pulled over once and got let go right away... i got hauled in because i was 22 and the customs officer didn't believe that i had declared everything... i've also heard stories from friends that they've had their cars ripped apart because of the suspicion of drugs... since 9/11 they are doing a lot more random searches... but i have a question for the OP were you around anyone that was smoking joints before you crossed into canada??? the only reason why i ask that is because drug sniffing dogs just don't bark at people for no reason... they had to have smelled something on you in order to bark...

Adrian

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:34 AM ^

Well considering I was in Pennsylvania on a mountain which happend to be packed with snowboarders I assume I was somehow in contact with the smel waiting in line to get on the lift or on the actual lift. I get the whole being searched thing I was ok with that what I wasnt ok with was being treated like shit, I was laughed in the face and thrown up against a wall then slammed on a bench without showing any signs of being aggressive. I know it didnt help that we were laughing while being lined up or that I tried to explain to the guy that I was clean but he wasnt having it.

formerlyanonymous

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:34 AM ^

You could probably complain to the US State Department, but I doubt it'll get you anything. I've had similar interrogations at the Windsor crossing. They held me for 3 hours and gave me this crap about not having to let me into their country.

Give me a break, I'm just heading over to hang out with a bunch of frat guys in Toronto for a banquet. I'm going to spend a couple hundred dollars on your economy and then leave. Just let me pass, but no... nothing is ever that simple.

Windsor has detained me three times for similar crap. Now, I find it's worth the extra 20 minute drive to go the Blue Water Bridge instead of any crossing in Detroit. I've never had any problem at any other crossing point, or even any attitude for that matter.

Blue in Yarmouth

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:45 AM ^

As a Canadian who has crossed into your lovely country many times, I can say that this happens going the other way too.

I remember when I was 19 years old and in the military. I was stationed in New Brunswich and we decided to go to Boston for the weekend. We were all between 18 and 23 and when we crossed the border the guy asked us if we planned on leaving anything behind when we came back (first and only time I got that question when crossing the border).

My buddy replied, "I don't know.....maybe a few gaseous emititions." We got pulled over, searched and interrogated for about 2 hours before they let us go.

I learned right there that you don't screw around with poeple with authority like that.

CRex

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:52 AM ^

Yeah the Detroit crossing is a bitch. I was detained because I had a Michigan student ID in my wallet, yet I had PA plates on my car and a PA driver's liscense. The Canadians were convinced I had forged documents because I had IDs from two different states.

I finally talked one of them to calling across the river and asking American Customs about it, who explained that students retain their homestate residency even if they go elsewhere for college.

The fact my girlfriend asked them "What are you guys anyways? The Mounty rejects?" likely didn't help us out either.

CRex

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^

I just don't get how the Canadians can be so dense about it? They have to have out of state students from Michigan, Wayne State and other local colleges crossing at a pretty decent rate. A lot of kids from New England will drive through Canada to get home. You think they'd cover it in training or something about how American students can hold multiple IDs.

Blue in Yarmouth

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^

maybe because this is so prevalent (as you have said), is exactly why they pay close attention to it. If they simply said, "It is normal to have multiple id's from different states in the USA so if anyone shows them, you must let them through without any questions asked" it could become an issue for people using fake ID's.

Another thought is that it may not have been the ONLY reason they decided to give you a hard time. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camels back.

CRex

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:15 AM ^

Yeah, because everyone knows the Detroit street gangs are printing off Michigan student IDs en masse. Hell yeah, free AATA rides baby and 30% at Sushi.com on Sunday! Thug 4 Lyfe!

Seriousily, if the customs gets worked up over a University issued ID, when all my other IDs and match to my home state and one address then they have the problem, not me.

jaggs

February 23rd, 2010 at 11:33 AM ^

its still you who has the problem. From what I've heard, border agents can do whatever the hell they want. You basically have no property rights as you cross the border, they are allowed to search everything they want without any reason whatsoever. So yeah this is your problem not theirs.

Blazefire

February 23rd, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^

I've heard a few cases of them slicing up seats in cars and what not looking for drugs. Does anyone know how you get the repair/replacement paid for if they don't find anything?

Blazefire

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:53 AM ^

I don't know why people with authority become such pricks, but they do.

My favorite foreign country to visit is British Grand Cayman. I actually don't care for the island, but getting onto the island is hilarious.

"Did you come here on a cruise ship?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Off you go."

Wolverine In Exile

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:32 AM ^

I was in London for business and finnished on Friday, didn't fly out until Sunday afternoon. Decided with a bunch of buddies to catch a $20 r/t Ryan Air flight to Dublin. Flew into Dublin early Sat morning, got to the Customs agent, he asked in his heavy Irish brogue "How long are you staying?"

I answered: "1 day"

Agent: "What are you doing in Dublin for 1 day?"

Me: "I'm coming to visit your pubs"

Agent: "Well then, I'll put you down for a week just in case then?"

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

February 23rd, 2010 at 9:56 AM ^

Yeah, it really doesn't pay to put on the all hardass "fuck you, I'm innocent so I don't have to take this shit from you" attitude. They can fuck with you a lot harder than you can fuck with them.

Honestly, I've never had any trouble crossing into Canada. Was driving through with a carload of my stuff during my move and customs couldn't have cared less about any of it....took me less time there than it did to pay the bridge toll. It's coming back I've always had issues.

Personal funny story: Drove back through the Windsor Tunnel one time with a couple of six-packs I'd bought at the beer store. US customs asked me if I had anything to declare, which of course I did since it was sitting there in plain sight on the floor below the passenger seat. Telling him I had beer set off all kinds of alarms in his head and he asked me a zillion questions and then proceeded to try and open one, I guess to check and see if it really was beer. At that point his supervisor stepped in and said "uhhhh, you might want to think about that for a second." (Obviously I'm not allowed to drive around with an open container and customs isn't really allowed to confiscate anything that I'm legally allowed to have.) Moral: Sometimes these guys ain't so bright, but they still wield the handcuffs.

GOBLUE4EVR

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:28 AM ^

i went over to windsor to play in a softball tourny with my old team from windsor... when i left saturday morning i stopped at kroger and grabbed to cases of beer for the team... i get to the bridge and get to the canadian side... i have all of my information ready to go... customs officer asks me if i have anything to declare, i say yes i have 2 cases of beer that i'm bringing over for myself and my softball team... now as i said above i've been crossing the border for pretty much my entire life so i know the rules... well the customs officer said that i was not allowed to bring 2 cases of beer across... i asked why he told me that it was because your not allowed to bring that much booze across if you're staying less than 48 hours... i looked at him and said, this is not all for me, its for me and my softball team (i was in my softball uniform) and for the girlfriends/spouses and parents that were going to be at the team party later that night... i also said that all of this beer would be gone that day and i was spending the night in windsor because we would playing on sunday... he looked at me, and just said "well its against the rules but i'll let it slide this time"...

hotcarlweathers

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^

I got stuck in customs for an hour the last time I tried getting into Canada because my buddy tried entering with a DUI conviction on his record. That got us a police escort back to the vehicle and a threat of jail time if we tried returning without clearing it up.

The time before that, though, a bunch of our 19 year old selves were headed over to Windsor to get plastered and the lumberjack looking customs agent asked us in complete seriousness "You guys headed over to see your fucking boyfriends or something?"

We didn't know how to react.

"...n-n-no sir. We like women. We're not coming for men."

"On your way."

It was surreal.

Wolverine In Exile

February 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^

with the Michigan broomball team for tournaments in Canada and upstate NY and never had a problem. Hell we even most times had trunks full of Molson XXX for the weekend and we always just maintained a pleasant, calm demeanor. Got inspected a coupel times, but no issues. The worst I ever got was when coming back after a night in Windsor, when asked if we had anything to declare, my buddy in the back seat (whose dad is FBI) said in the loudest voice possible, "Yeah, my weiner". 2 hours later we were back on the road.

AS a person who travels internationally for work a lot, I can tell you that you will never win against border guards in any country at any time. Most nations have laws that allow for the immediate searching of person and items (including a scanning and copying of your laptop hard drive) by border agents, so another reason to stay off the kiddie porn websites and keep the naked photos of your girlfriend on a thumb drive. The best strategy at all times when crossing a nation is to just answer questions, stay calm, AND DO NOT TALK BACK TO THEM! If you feel threatened, respectfully ask for legal counsel (if crossing back into the USA) or for an embassy / consulate representative (if in a foreign nation), but be advised if you do this most foreign nations can detain you indefinitely until that representation shows up and the embassy / consulate guy is going to be REALLY pissed off.

Greg McMurtry

February 23rd, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^

the legalities of any of this, but I do know that any time that I've ever given an attitude to any type of law enforcement type (cop/border/etc.) they make things 100 times worse for you. So, anytime I get pulled over/stopped at border I just play the "yes sir, no sir, thank you officer" game and things typically run much more smoothly. Even though I despise a lot of these people and think that many of them are power-hungry pricks, playing the "respect my authoritahh" (Cartman voice) game goes a long way.

ebbtide

February 23rd, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^

..Remember this Canadian phrase:

"I'm heading to the casino, eh"

I've crossed nurmous times in my life, for partying, Lasik, toronto trips, etc... I've given all sorts of excuses for entering and have been stopped before. But i've never been stopped when they thought I was heading to Casino Windsor..

It works as your excuse coming back into the US also, but not with as surefire results..

K2

February 23rd, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^

I used to go through Canada on the way back from school every time I went home from school. However after a few trips by myself I have found that the Canadians are the single most obnoxious people to deal with at the border. I was held for 20 minutes once because the guard didn't believe that I had never been arrested, this was on my way out to Michigan. On the way back to New York 6 officers and a drug dog went through the car and dumped all my stuff out on the ground while I had to go inside for a background check and questioning, then the just left all my clothes and stuff lying on the ground and made me put it back myself. Both trips the American guards simply asked a few questions and took a quick look in the car and I was on my way. Because of the jerks at the border I now drive through that asshole of a state known as ohio to get home.

jabberwock

February 23rd, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^

Ok, to preface: I've been crossing the Canadian border 12-24 times a year for 40 years.
I cross through the Windsor Tunnel, the Ambassador Bridge, The Blue Water Bridge, and The International Bridge. Not just on occasion, but actually ALL those routes (and more) each year.

I could give you my take in an exhaustive list of when & where to cross for the most or least amount of hassle. But it doesn't really matter because one new asshole trying to be "Mr. Recently-Divorced-SuperCop" will inevitably ruin your day.

I will say that pre 9/11, the Canadian customs officials had a well deserved reputation for being somewhat more prickish . . . at almost all crossings. Since 9/11 the US side has had a massive growth in agents/officers/bureaucracy and much like airport security, there have been a lot of bad hiring decisions. I find the pendulum has swung in the U.S.s favor now, and we can claim the majority of current border Asshats.

As a U.S. citizen I appreciate the difficult job they do, which unfortunately makes the occasional professionalism-fail all the more apparent.

The rules are pretty simple however.
1. be respectful.
2. be honest.
3. document everything including names and I.D. numbers.