Agent Skelly, I hear you about the title, but from my experience, it doesn't matter where you are on the planet and there's a border; if the humans in uniform resemble a police officer, or a soldier, regardless of how it is or is not empowered and he/she's guarding a Frontier, it's a GUARD and their primary duty is to guard the border. There's nothing to be ashamed of in that responsibility or title. All the Officers I've ever known were armed. Until recent years, Canadian Border Guards did not carry arms, nor were they empowered to make an arrest, or do little more than ask you where you were going. Things have changed dramatically since 9/11.
In a vehicle entering the US, the vehicle with occupants visible is photographed, if you enter at Champlain, they now have large signs informing you that your private conversations are being monitored, which is a joke - that's been possible for decades. Forget about rolling the windows up and turning on the radio while you fight about where you're going for lunch or how many fruits and vegetables you have in a cooler, they can hear everything through the gift of a graphic equalizer. They map patterns, they know when you habitually come and go. Everything comes up on a screen in the booth, including your passport shot. Last year when dog papers were not passed out of the vehicle with passports, they knew to ask about a dog. The dog had died the previous month. Gone but not forgotten in the darndest of places....
My last trip stuck out like a sore thumb. Out of sync with my established and documented patterns, not in a car, on the train, travelling alone -- gee, is it the same guy or someone using his ID? Odd ball questions out of left field and like the right key in the lock, everything's OK. I've seen people asked to leave the train, and though a far cry from an old story a friend told me, (This one's worth it) A tour bus was going from East Berlin into West Berlin in the 1960's. Before leaving the east, an officer accompanied by two armed border guards (soldiers) boarded the bus for inspection. An East German had snuck onboard to escape to the west -- was caught and was forcibly removed from the bus, kicking and screaming for his LIFE. If you didn't know, if a guard killed such a person attempting to escape from East Germany, he got a cash bonus and TWO WEEKS PAID VACATION. So they get this guy screaming off the bus and they beat him with a rifle butt all the way to a door where he disappeared inside to a fate nobody would want. At that point, a weisenheimer kid from Brooklyn snydely announced to the bus; "Well? I SUPPOSE THAT'S THE LAST WE WILL BE SEEING OF HIM!!!"
Point of that digression, the last time I saw people removed from the train, they had to take their luggage and all I heard was, they would be inspected and "Interviewed". If they passed, transport would be provided into Montreal. If not, they would be returned to American authorities, where the real fun would begin.
FOr entering a Commonwealth country and coming from a Commonwealth country, you may be surprised at how Australian and New Zealand youth are handled. There has been a scam with the kids for sometime where they purchase an return air ticket, come to North America and hang out. They cash in the return ticket and live off of and travel on the money. When the money runs out, they run for the US/CDN Border and get "Caught". You see, if they don't have a return ticket, they will be denied entry. Upon return to the other side (regardless), that party doesn't want them either. Guess what happens next? The kids get a FREE FLIGHT back down under. I learned about that a few years back on of all places; riding The Adirondack.
An Australian travelling with his girlfriend became the subjects of one of the worst grillings I've ever witnessed on the train. The man was an employee of United Airlines, and was travelling with an "OPEN TICKET". He couldn't get it through the Officer's/Guard's head what that was, the inspector had clearly never seen one. The man was at least 30, he said he and his girlfriend were travelling around the world, and when they got tired of it, they had these open tickets to use from wherever, to fly back home. This altercation ate up at least 40 minutes. Then they got to the Saudi's and Pakistani's and took them all off the train, and like in East Germany -- NEVER to be seen again.
People entering Canada frequently for work, either commuting from say northern New York State or Vermont to Montreal, or long haul truckers, can get a special ID called a CANPASS. The Canpass is a privilige, and violation of terms has stiff penalties. If they stop someone with a Canpass for inspection and they have undeclared thingys in the vehicle, they are in deep trouble. Canpass users go through the border with the same delay as we get in an average paytoll.
On the rail, they don't have a computer, it's done the old fashioned way -- eyeballing and chatting people up to see if they crack a sweat or make stupid or contradictory statements. I think the manifest is a brilliant tool to assist the people on both sides of the line.
D/
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