Lawrence, CBSA members are not police officers. They are peace officers with limited powers of arrest/detention to enforce several federal statutes specifically related to the border. If they were a police service, they would not be able to belong to a full blown very vocal politically charged union ….and they would require more than three months of training (or a few weeks training for their students) before working the primary inspection line.
And good pro-tip by the way… And most CBSA guys are only trying to do their job.
What most people don’t realise is WHERE each policing agency gets its powers. The Border Services Officers are Peace Officers, and their power comes from the Customs Act; Upon further examination of the Customs Act, one can see the powers are also derived from every Act they enforce, while they deem it necessary to enforce (IRPA, Fertilizer Act, Health Act, etc). The Customs Act outlines the fact that each action of examination and interviewing is left to the sole discretion of the Officer; there are no warrants required, no grounds required. The Customs Act states that the Border Services Officer “must be satisfied of the citizenship, reisdency and intent of the traveller” so if he is suspicious, it is HIS JOB to ask further questions, conduct more examinations. These Officers have the greatest powers in North America. The Canadian Officers have powers that are generally not limited; the US have similar powers, though I suspect they have a few more restraints when it comes to the Rights of the US Citizen. Also, it is noteworthy that although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to ANY PERSON who sets feet on Canadian soil, the US Bill of RIgths applies ONLY to US citizens. So, all you non-US Citizens…you have NO RIGHTS while entering the US, so be as compliant as possible. If you are not being strip searched, or arrested, just answer all the questions asked of you in a polite manner and your life will be much smoother!
Pro tip: don’t be belligerent with border control officers. This guy deliberately provoked the border police.
a) NEVER mess with border cops.
b) better, stop going to US – stuff like this keeps me out.
Lawrence, CBSA members are not police officers. They are peace officers with limited powers of arrest/detention to enforce several federal statutes specifically related to the border. If they were a police service, they would not be able to belong to a full blown very vocal politically charged union ….and they would require more than three months of training (or a few weeks training for their students) before working the primary inspection line.
And good pro-tip by the way… And most CBSA guys are only trying to do their job.
i love america ;) so crowded
It looks to me like everybody was wrong here to differing degrees.
Joel: This wasn’t CBSA. It sounds like the guy was travelling into the USA, which would make the border guard DHS.
What most people don’t realise is WHERE each policing agency gets its powers. The Border Services Officers are Peace Officers, and their power comes from the Customs Act; Upon further examination of the Customs Act, one can see the powers are also derived from every Act they enforce, while they deem it necessary to enforce (IRPA, Fertilizer Act, Health Act, etc). The Customs Act outlines the fact that each action of examination and interviewing is left to the sole discretion of the Officer; there are no warrants required, no grounds required. The Customs Act states that the Border Services Officer “must be satisfied of the citizenship, reisdency and intent of the traveller” so if he is suspicious, it is HIS JOB to ask further questions, conduct more examinations. These Officers have the greatest powers in North America. The Canadian Officers have powers that are generally not limited; the US have similar powers, though I suspect they have a few more restraints when it comes to the Rights of the US Citizen. Also, it is noteworthy that although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to ANY PERSON who sets feet on Canadian soil, the US Bill of RIgths applies ONLY to US citizens. So, all you non-US Citizens…you have NO RIGHTS while entering the US, so be as compliant as possible. If you are not being strip searched, or arrested, just answer all the questions asked of you in a polite manner and your life will be much smoother!