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https://www.kelownanow.com/watercool...at_U_S_border/

Stinkypup

That is appalling - and she seemingly couldn't complain?

Steve_

Depends on who you complain to but personally I've made a complaint to the DHS OIG and it's a complete joke. They take the complaint and do literally nothing whatsoever. You can tell they have next to no resources.

Phone the number: 1-800-323-8603 - it gives you a menu of complaints to chose from "Have you been abused in an ICE detention facility? Press 1. Have you been abused by a border patrol agent? Press 2." Etc.

Guardian even did an article on it: The Department of Homeland Security: the largest police force nobody monitors | Marisa Franco & Paromita Shah | Opinion | The Guardian

CBP have their own complaint form: https://help.cbp.gov/app/forms/complaint/

What I discovered is that it's better to do it the old-fashioned way and write a letter, or like it says in the article, at the very first moment they start doing something you think is wrong, you ask for the supervisor and if the supervisor doesn't help, you ask for the port director (who won't talk to you but they can usually get hold of the assistant port director).

And you make it absolutely crystal clear you want the complaint to go in your entry record. Actually had this happen - CBP inspector started getting out-of-hand and then he brings up my entry record and mumbles to himself: "wow you've made a lot of complaints" and then he suddenly became much more polite.

But I have to say on balance CBSA are worse imx.

I've been through Roosville several times, CBP always seem very laid back to me, never had an entry take more than a minute. (And I know this because another tip is to get a dashcam and record what they are saying to you.)

Former Lancastrian

I can certainly testify that making a complaint to CBSA using this link does get actioned and its fairly simple to use
Compliments, Comments and Complaints

I can testify that it also works for compliments as well.

As far as I am aware both US and Canadian officers wear name tags on the uniform though I agree some can cover them up or take it off. As Steve suggested speaking to a Supervisor should be the 1st step and I have seen dozens of complaints rectified by this simple action. Both sides have some bad apples working for them but even on this site I have seen the compliments far outweigh the complaints so they can't all be that bad.
I have had more compliments than complaints and Yes I owned up to the complaints however none were found to be serious enough to warrant action.

I won't comment on the story as I wasn't there however the last Canadian officer who tried something like that got fired and I believe prosecuted.

printer

Will be interesting if any further developments are broadcast on any news sites. Will she ever get justice or will it be covered up? We only have her story to read thus far and have to assume all the facts are as reported of course.

Former Lancastrian

Well of course because we know the public or traveller never lies or embellishes certain facts

Steve_

I've seen them get bent out-of-shape about little things so I can fully believe her story.

In fact most likely I've spoken to the same guy at the same POE because I went through Rooseville a few weeks ago. He seemed highly suspicious of the fact that the main thing I wanted to buy in the US was diet cherry pop. But he didn't cavity search me.

However - I think I related this story before but I've been yelled at by the inspector, pulled into secondary inspection, locked in a room for half an hour and had my car put up on a hydraulic lift and very thoroughly searched by CBSA. Mainly because it was a same day return and the inspector found that to be suspicious for some weird reason. And I definitely did complain about him at length to the superintendent.

One of the problems with CBP is that a lot of their inspectors are ex-military and the first few months on the job they think Canada is a haven of terrorists but they calm down when they realize they're dealing with people whose main objective is to buy cheaper Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts at Wal-Mart.

The guy I spoke to at Rooseville the other day was mid-20s and looked ex-military so maybe he just got carried away. The other times I've been through they've barely spoken a word to me. It's usually: "where you going?" "Kalispell." "When you coming back?" "Couple of days." "Got any tobacco or alcohol?" "No." "Okay then."

Steve_

And here is a thrilling action shot from my dashcam while I was talking to him.

Former Lancastrian

I think we can agree that both the CBP and CBSA employ individuals who really should not be working for them and I guess we could say the same for the UK and Australian agencies as well as others.
That is not to say we cannot be professional and courteous but lets have a look at the mandate of CBP and CBSA.

This is the Ethos of the CBP as found on their website
We are the guardians of our Nation’s borders.
We are America’s frontline.
We safeguard the American homeland at and beyond our borders.
We protect the American people against terrorists and the instruments of terror.
We steadfastly enforce the laws of the United States while fostering our Nation’s economic security through lawful international trade and travel.
We serve the American people with vigilance, integrity, and professionalism.

Now this is what the CBSA charter says
Our Mission
The Canada Border Services Agency works to ensure Canada's security and prosperity by managing the access of people and goods to and from Canada.

Our Vision
An integrated border agency that is recognized for service excellence in ensuring Canada's security and prosperity.

Our Workforce
We work with vigilance at the border, within Canada and abroad, providing the services necessary to help keep our nation safe and prosperous.

Born of the rich history that is our legacy, we are proud to protect and serve Canadians and confident in our ability to meet new challenges.

We are united in our resolve to carry out our diverse mandate and enforce the laws of Canada with impartiality and fairness.

As leaders and innovators in border management, we value our strong domestic and international partnerships and are dedicated to working together on critical safety, security and trade issues.

We rise to the challenges we face each day, and take pride in knowing that the work we do makes a difference in the lives of Canadians while contributing to global security and commerce.

Our Commitment to Service Excellence
Respect and courtesy
Bilingual service
Fair application of the law
Accurate information
Privacy and confidentiality
Review of our actions and decisions

Does anyone spot a difference? Does anyone see smile at travellers and be friendly

Those who wish to do both countries harm well the professional ones are less likely to use a port of entry to cross but both countries do catch the less professional ones.
Yes they like to show you who is in charge and eye you with an amount of suspicion and carry out checks where nothing is found but thats part of their mandate and expectations. I guess if they didn't check then soon they would hear complaints about not doing their job.
I agree most complain about the way they are treated as opposed to why they are doing their job and again travellers don't wear signs on their foreheads saying Im a drug, gun, child porn smuggler or Im coming in to work/stay illegally.

Shirtback

I found an update:
https://www.kelownanow.com/watercool...rder_incident/

I'll add that, some years ago, I spent quite a long time in "secondary", both coming & going over the US/Canada border.

Part of the delay - each time - was waiting for a female officer to be available/present for any type of further questioning/body search. The male border officers (whether US or CDN), didn't touch me/my children. They were annoyingly boring about not answering questions.

dbd33

This story doesn't quite make sense to me. If we believe her why do we think the border officers would do this, knowing that it would put their jobs at risk? Maybe she pissed them off but people must piss them off all day every day, what was special about her? (I confess a bias here, I loath fat people on motorcycles and the way they wobble along obstructing the traffic, I'm not inclined to support them).

Alan2005

It's a tricky one. Fat people are known to be habitual liars, but then again so are those that do jobs like border guard.

MillieF

I so very much want to disagree with you....

haggis88

Calgary CBSA have always been awesome to me, always a smile and a 'Welcome back' when I come back with my PR card

Only once have I been charged any duty on the copius amounts of booze i've brought back from the states, and it was mostly because the cashier was a young trainee and a supervisor was watching him the whole time

CBP are usually decent unless you're going through YYZ, got grilled there by some dick who acted like he'd never seen an L1-B before...his boss looked at my occupation though, and when he seen the Generals signature on my work documents, welcomed me in and proceeded to talk at length about how much work he had done on our units before he joined CBP

orly

Surely you don't even need to speak to them any more? Pretty sure the last time I went through I just scanned my PR card at one of those booth things they've set up and walked on.