Washington File

I noted that this article stated that Canadians have the right to refuse fingerprinting. At Pearson Airport on my way to the states US Customs took my finger prints and my photo without obtaining any permission. They offered no explanation just told me to give up the prints and stand for a picture. In fact is was more or less put give it up or forget flying. They treated me like a complete criminal with no explanation. It's bad enough what the US is doing to their own citizens with their nazi-like rights to invade anyone's life for whatever reason under the Terrorism act, but to be allowed to deny an allied country their rights -- well Canada might as well start flying the stars and stripes cause it looks like big brother is taking away our rights too while our own government looks on and shrugs.

Good on Stockwell Day on this file.It's the right position.Just as I expect to obey all the laws of America when and if I visit there,I expect them to respect our position on our soil.As they say,"when in Rome,do as the Romans do".
Having said that,I certainly would expect that our brother from Detroit is wrong in thinking that position would also prevent people from being questioned or searched.I don't see any similarity at all.Anyone refusing to be searched,or have their vehicle searched obviously has something to hide.We all know that is a possibility when we cross any international border.And we accept that.Both of our countries have a right to determine who is welcome,and who is not.And we all have a lot to gain by finding and prosecuting smugglers of any kind.But I too object to fingerprinting.If they have "just cause",I expect them to do their jobs.If not,and I am not welcome,I accept that it is their right to refuse me entry into THEIR country.I will just go home.But as an innocent,law abiding citizen,I do object to leaving my fingerprints behind.
Finally,I would remind my fellow citizens that your America bashing is rude,totally uncalled for,and flies in the face of most of what Canada would like to stand for.I find it difficult to believe you can't state your position without resorting to the stupidity of name calling.Both countries have some good policy,and some not so good policy.The real goal is finding the best of both,and making them work for all of us.
People in our countries have many more similarities than difference.And we surely cannot let politicians define us.They make the headlines,but one thing that's the same on both sides of the border is that they can rarely be depended on when reason and good judgement are required.
Our countries depend on each other,and we will either sink,or swim.But whichever it is,I expect we will do it together,whether we like it or not.

Why does this discussion of Henry Champ's piece on Harper and the pm's position with respect to relations with the Bush government perpetually descend into nationalist grandstanding? And since when does disliking a policy or a political orientation entail hating an entire nation? This makes no sense.

To take an analogy the French have been vilified as "socialists" (apparently a pejorative term - especially when paired with "soviet") and the character of the entire French nation besmirched constantly. But suddenly they turn around and elect a neo-con as their president. Who knew, the French (all of them) aren't dirty "liberals" and "socialists" after all.

Canada's historic dilemma has always been how to keep the French in, the Americans out and how to keep the Canadians from going south. As a ex-Canadian who went south in May 1968 one month after the take over by that clown Pierre I have never regretted it. Study the numbers and you will learn that the population of Canada would be 50m if everyone had stayed there. In my experience those Canadians I meet who have lived, worked and studied in the USA find it a very positive experience. The most rabidly anti-American are those who tend to be none of the above catagories. As for me I have and continue to lead a great life which I know I would not have had I stayed in the Soviet Socialist Province of Saskatchewan. I was Canadian by birth but an American by choice and the grace of God.

The americans are on a fingerprint "frenzy" right now. I have worked for a university that does research for the federal govt here and for the first time they are demanding that everyone be fingerprinted. President Bush signed a order called HSPD-12 that mandates the fingerprinting of every person that is even remotely connected to the government about 14 million people. As a Canadian Citizen I am going to refuse this intrusion into my life and probably lose my job which I have had for 18 years.This fingerprinting actually violates California Law. When I was forced to be fingerprinted by the american immigration I had 43 ( yes 43) errors on my fingerprint card, that they forced me and my attorneys to investigate......

I am a British citizen visiting Canada for the second successive summer. Canadian immigration may ask stupid questions, eg at Montreal last year, I was asked 'What is the purpose of your visit?' to which I replied 'holiday'. This was followed up with 'What will you be doing?' Resisting the temptation for sarcasm, I just said 'Enjoying myself' (as I subsequently did during my holiday!) at which the immigration officer let me in.

I relate this anecdote as at least I was *not* treated like a terrorist suspect, as I would be if I tried visiting the USA (home of IRA Inc). I even avoid transiting through that country. How would any of the Yanks feel if they were fingerprinted upon arrival on our shores? Not very happy, I dare say!

Well, to put it a bit in perspective....
I'm an Australian who has applied for Permanent Residency in Canada(almost complete). Every time I go into the US, I was fingerprinted and photographed. That wasnt such a big thing(it's only an electronic fingerprint on 2 fingers total). Paying $12 to get it done did sting a bit(I have to pay for them to follow their rules?)
But, how many of you actually know what it takes to become a Permanent Resident of Canada? It's a lot stricter than you think. Not only fingerprints, but blood samples, urine samples, xrays, long histories required of everywhere you've lived, everyone you've known for 10 years, and, of course, the 'ahem' hernia test.
So if you think fingerprints are bad, try having to drop your pants and bend over to get into Canada.

Simply put, The World needs Canada and our resources more than Canada needs the US. When we look at our trade stats, per capita, we're a better customer of the US than they are to us. Our business can be spread around globally if that was a direction we decided to go but the US can barely meet their current needs with Canadian resources in hand. Maybe they should get off their high horse and start acting like a team member instead of John Wayne, he never survived.

Michael Chertoff is a moron, plain and simple, So are Wilkins and Bush. They should all just b*****-off as far as their stupid and damaging border policies. The US has turned into a nation of wimps. Like I said. B*****- off DHS!

The border security is just a symptom of a much bigger problem; It does not take much to realize what would be the American approach in dealing with Canada.
Having Leo Strauss followers in the white house coupled with Canadian politicians and corporatists who are eager to sell Canada for a “Fistful of Dollars” is a recipe to surrender all Canada… surrendering Canada is a matter of time, the scary thing is that it will happen behind a heavy smoke screen so Canadians can be convinced ….. Canadians proved to be smart and hard to fool so I am wondering Just how far and how hard the US Government and our pro-Annexation politicians can go with the smoke screen. Lets not forget how easily the American surrendered their liberties in a blink of an eye for “security”, the problem is that the Americans still do not know the price they are paying and other nations are paying as a result of the neocons (Strauss followers) plan to dominate the planet.
Nevertheless…. The US policies are failing all over the world and I hope the neocons will go away and more hopeful to see a new generation of true Canadian politicians who really believe in Canada more than they believe in G.Bush and his pathetic chorus.

I have no need to cross the border thank goodness. They want to treat everyone as
criminals. Well not this proud-to-be Canadian
girl. They won't need my prints cause i just
travel in Canada, and spend my money here.
We should all stop going there and see how
much money they would lose. Then they would
be crying for us Canadians to return with
birth certificate only.

Thanks to Kevin in Chicago for his small point and geography lesson."Buffalo is not in upstate New York, its in Western New York" What a relief to have his diversion stall my train of thought and to be scolded as well. What was it we were discussing? Oh yeah, being pressed by DHS to allow their will to supercede our freedoms. Sounds like upstate New York would be moot when the border disappears. Just a small point and a geography lesson.

I am not anti-American, nor do I dislike President Bush, whatever others may say, but when it comes to protecting our civil liberties and defending the Canadian concept of what is lawful I say Bravo to Ottawa for standing up to Washington.

Being a Canadian working in the US for the last 15 years, I have watched the border get tighter and tighter when I renew my TN each year.

I support Mr Day's decision, but I also agree he had little choice on at least two fronts - legal AND minority government.

I watched 9/11 occur as many of you did. It was terrible :( We can't let the terrorists win by giving up our freedoms. Tighten the choke points yes, but some of the things being allowed now - shake my head.

Some are concerns about the Security and Prosperity Partnership process going on right now. If you think it will lesson Canadian's willingness to be Canadian - please :) - I'm surrounded by 6 million friendly American brothers and sisters. Anyone who gets to know me, knows and respects I'm Canadian. Canadians have nothing to fear - no one is going to tell you you're not Canadian - you'd laugh :)

Do you think someone from an EU country thinks of themselves from the EU or their home country?

Knowing how the Americans operate, the Canada Customs post will soon become an American enclave, as Customs agents will be browbeaten to do it "The American Way". It can only a matter of time before both ends of the Peace Bridge and the Ambassador Tunnel become "Americanized", if US Customs agents are allowed to operate on this side of the border; though at most international airports, they've been there for some time but under strict Canadian regulations. If the yanks have their way, things will "tighten up" considerably to reflect the "war footing" that the Americans are currently on. Because America is "the center of the universe" (by their own reconing), things have to be done their way "or else". Such blather. In the eyes of many Americans, Canada is the leading pipeline for an assortment of draft dodgers, thieves and terrorists. I no longer visit there. 9/11 made things a lot worse but it really started with the Bush Administration.

I guess those who take this "terrorism threat" hook line and sinker from the US neocons and their acolytes in this country should read a bit of recent world history and pay attention to current events. We don't want the US dictating how we should handle citizens in our own country and any government here who would consider such a thing should be removed. Why would they want your fingerprints?

Reading Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and Orwell's "1984" might stimulate some comparisons and perhaps critical thinking. But these are big books without any pictures.

The "terrorists" haven't "won", they aren't losing or winning - this is probably just about money. If you have a great financial interest in selling arms, selling oil, locking people up in prisons and you also can make the laws, you perhaps would want to expand your addressable market and supply. Keeping people scared helps control them and worrying about whatever they are supposed to worry about "as seen on TV".

Terrorism has been rampant in many countries long before Bush and company needed to boost their popularity - Think about Israel, ETA in Spain and in Britain the IRA (who got much funding and support from which country close to Canada?).

In the old days my grandfather used to cross to Buffalo on a ferry without any customs checks at all. Times have necessarily changed, although no one has explained why Americans need to have fingerprints of persons who are NOT entering their country. Are people merely thinking of entering the US now a threat? I sincerely hope Canadian officials do not back down on this.

In the USA we comply with their laws.

In Canada they comply with ours.

That's it. We start compromising on something basic it's game over for our sovreignty.

Later on when there, maybe, is a North (and South?) America Economic Union (Equivalent of the ECU) such things can be negogiated as part and parcel of oordinated overall treaties.

Not piecemeal compliance at the the whim of one US department. I'll go with delays and even additional costs, before compromising.

... Nations rise and fall. Certainly the speed of the change varies considerably but, it seems to me, in regard to the USA that the cycle has passed it's Zenith and is on the descending trajectory.

... The USA is showing it's insecurity,which in itself is a new phenomenon, by this almost obsessive focus on security, as expressed by gestapo type spying on all the financial dealings of all it's citizens and also the financial backgrounds of all foreigners on planes either treminating their flights or transiting thru the USA.
Add it this the 'maginot line' type fortified and defended border fence/wall that is being constructed on the Canadian and Mexican frontiers. Paranoia of this magnitude is evidence of a severe and perhaps lethal condition in the body politic of that once great nation, that sixty years ago was indeed the envy of the world!

Which nations are in the ascendant as the USA falls?? China,India, and probably Europe/Russia as a bloc.

We need to sever as many connections with the United States as possible.

Abrogate NAFTA, back out of the SPP, and return to fair WTO rules.

They sign agreements and then break all of their promises while engaging in punitive measures if we take any actions that could abstractly be construed as being in violation of treaty. They've ripped us off too many times and now they are losing their collective mind. We need to increase trade with sane partners such as Australia, Japan, and Europe.

We need a leader with the balls to tell the US to go to hell.

Instead we have Harper, Dion, and Layton. God save us all...

We must maintain our sovereignty. Canadians do not want to be Americans, do not want gun-toting, do not want to "free" other countries by killing their citizens in the pursuit of amorphous "suspected terrorists". It is time to re-examine NATO and perhaps pull back from it and put our energies into reforming the UN, participating in a UN rapid action army.

Incidentally, let's really press Harper and our MPs for a transparent, honest presentation and parliamentary (maybe election question) vote on the obscure and dangerous Security and Prosperity Partnership

Whether or not we agree with the US having the right to fingerprint people without charging them with an offense is really a moot point in this argument. What matters is that this is illegal on Canadian soil, so they cannot do it on our side of the bridge. End of.

Hello

After watching the Home Land Security at work and the mistakes made by both the US and Canada, I think for the betterment of every one involved they should let a 10th grader decide what should be done. It appears the home land security and border security don't really know what to do here and the spat of words from both sides is not assisting the thousands of companies and families who depend on boarder commerce for a living are being considered. If the United States is that much worried about the security of our folks, then maybe we (Canadians) should install the same tightening restrictions in every detail for American companies and citizens coming to Canadian soil. This might push the lobbyist and true power houses in the states to force the few with the power to make the right decision. I have no intention of traveling to the States for this very reason. As for finger printing, that is a direct violation of my constitutional right. Unless I have been convicted or charged with a crime or criminal offense, that is considered something from what police states do, Not to mention countries by name, but I am sure that the very countries the American Administion are at odds with carry the same type of practices with in it’s own boarders.

Had the idea of traveling to America not become so stressful and expensive just to enter the country I would have spent more time and not doubt a lot of money in the United States. Unless this changes America will soon discover that not just Canadians, but most of the people across the world will eventually stop coming to visit and spend there money. To all those outside North America....Canada welcomes you and you privacy and rights are safe and respected here.

Regards

Michael Grant
Business Owner and Proud Canadian

The best thing we can do here in Canada is to get rid of NAFTA, Harper, Day and the rest of their crew. With huge markets in India, China, Europe and parts of South America we should set our sights on quickly weaning ourselves from the soon to be POLICE state known as the United States.
As far as Day refusing to allow the US HS to set up shop in our country and fingerprint our citizens at will....don't give too much credit to him. Harper(who has publicly idolized Bush & C0.) are aware that there would be a huge outcry from the general population at this time, as a minority government they would not dare allow this. {They are Wolves in sheep clothing.}
Canadians have been ripped off by the US on every gas, oil and water deal we have ever had with them. Take the latest softwood lumber dispute...They refused to pay the total amount holding back and penalizing us 1 BILLION US. Convenience of market is no excuse to have OUR liberty's compromised by that country. We need strong nationalistic politicians. I really don't know of many.
As for the comments regarding Bush & co., he is far too stupid to be in control. He can barely speak english beyond a grade six level. Many in the US feel he has been manipulated by Cheney and the large corporations working in Iraq to secure the area and oil for the US military.
With regard to the suggestion of US border patrol guards entering Canada packing weapons I have not seen any report of this.
However, it was reported in the Globe & Mail during the month of February....CIA/FBI agents made several forays into Canada of up to "60" mile sojourns just to see what they would encounter as far as any resistance, questioning by authorities etc.
We need another nationalistic leader such as Pierre Trudeau. At least he protected CBC unlike the current group of characters!
Don B

Wow, what a fantastic discussion! I believe that our human and civil rights are seriously threatened by surreptitious, nonchalant actions by the US and other corporate, multinational entities serving only themselves (and the highly privileged). Allow the finger through the door and the hand will follow. I wouldn't give too many kudos to Mr. Day. There is a whole other agenda here and Harper and co. cannot be trusted.

I too have had to go through the humiliation of fingerprinting, a mugshot, and an interrogation while briefly passing through Seattle on my way to a vacation in Mexico. Our country is already sharing significant information with the US Homeland Security and FBI. Information about me that was over 20 years old popped up on a US Customs screen and I was done. (This had absolutely nothing to with terrorism! And just to make a point, I was born in Canada and am of northern European descent with no religious affiliations.) I was held against my will, I was not given the option to call the Canadian Consulate or receive the services of a lawyer. I was eventually kicked out of the US (even though I have visited many times before without incident). I eventually did make it to Mexico, but I had to buy another plane ticket back to Canada and travel separated from my friends and family. Beware, you have "no rights" in the US.

My question is, if all of this information is already shared with the US (that's disturbing in itself), why should the US need to fingerprint Canadians wanting to enter the US?

It's worth heeding the cautions of others in this forum who have experienced living in communist countries, or who have had parents or relatives that have lived in those "situations".

The US is not a free society. Their human and civil rights are seriously threatened (or already gone for the majority of the people). Canadians need to be incredibly vigilant right now to ensure our rights are not eroded in the same way!

We Stand Guard!

Another absurdity is the fact I need a passport to fly into the US in the name of "security" but can drive to SeaTac airport and get on a similar flight without nothing more than a drivers licence and birth certificate. Goes to show you that DHS doesn't fully think through their policies before unilaterally implementing them!

On another note reading the comments from Jeff and Suzanne below; it's good to see that we, in Canada, can have a polite discourse even if our viewpoints don't agree with one another. It makes me proud to be Canadian.

Dont need fingerprints in NY to own a gun ,but gunless visitor must be fingerprinted, good thing the USA has such a important position in the world!

our USA freinds are really OFF BASE (in more ways than one) and we must insist, no fingerprinting without consent. The Canadian law is proper.

its hard to imagine keeping such detailed records on one hand and have a 20million (by some estimate) immigration problem on the other. Can't the American see how stupid/unbalanced this is?

I remember being told as a child about how the those poor people in communist countries could be arrested if they didn't have proper "papers" at all times, how their government's will ruled supreme over all human liberties, how they could not easily travel to other places and how they were subject to invasive "security" checking, identity confirmations and domestic spying.

It is really quite amazing how quickly the Americans have moved toward a more Kremlin style approach to security and there is no way Canada should cave to this sort of baseless pressure. Back when we faced a real threat during the Cold War, domestic freedoms were still cherished and protected on both sides of the border. It is so incredibly sad how the current paranoia has turned parts of the American government into something more closely resembling the “evil empire” of the past century.

I don't understand what the fuss is all about??? I think most of the population of Earth, with the exception of the Americans, know how they are. How many of us really believe this is all about security?

I'm surprised to hear that our government even allowed them on this side of the border. That was a bad move on our part. We only need to look at what happened to Maher Arar and what 'cooperation' between agencies did for him and his family.

Every first, second and third generation Canadian should be concerned. The Yanks could be looking at forcing democracy in another country rich in resources so they can protect the 'American way of life'.

I also question Day's decision because I don't think it would have been the same one if they were in the majority. Keep in mind we now have fixed election dates.

A Conservative majority would be a nightmare. Mandate or not the Harper party could do whatever the heck they wanted to unless they lost the confidence of the House. How often does that happen with a majority government?

Here we go again, the bully USA trying to push us around, and I as well as many Canadians are sick and tired of it.
One plan would be to build a wall on our borders to keep those arrogant so-and-sos out. Michael Chertoff should stick it in his ear.

Small point & a little geography lesson. Buffalo is not in upstate New York, its in Western New York. By continuing this mistake, all we do is reinforce people's belief that NY State is just NYC and then a big wooded area. FYI - Buffalo is at least 3-4 hours from upstate NY.

Mr. Day has not refused the latest request by the Americans to apply their laws on the Canada's soil because he believes in that! He refused because he knew that the majority of the Canadians do not agree with him. He could not confront them now because he needs them for the next election! If, and I hope it will not happen, the Conservatives get a majority; believe me the first thing they will do is to accept the American proposal.

When you thank Mr. Day for his refusal; be thankful, and remember it was because he was obliged to stand against what he beleives!!

There's not much I like about Stockwell Day or most of the Harper cabinet but "Hallelujah!" Our soil, our rules! I recently had to land in Dallas on returning from Mexico and as we were going through immigration there was a line for U.S. citizens and another for non-citizens. One of the guards looked at our our passports and said Canadians should line up in the U.S. citizens line. I was shocked at how offended I felt. It was a physical thing and I told him we were not Americans and had no desire to be considered as such!! The illusion they maintain is incredible. I fear for them when China decides to stomp all over their shop

Dear Suzanne, I would like to direct you to an article on this here cbc.ca which has just be posted (May 1). The article is all about how MI5 was unable to PREVENT the bombings in London. I don't understand why you want me to look there for an example as to how America can PREVENT any future, home-grown attacks!

Trials after the fact PREVENT nothing! Wouldn't you agree?

So, what would you do to PREVENT an attack?

Jeff, with reference to questions posed in your previous post, "the NOW constant calls" to attack America are a direct result of our involvement in Iraq. We lost 3000 people in 911 and wanted blood so badly we agreed to attack a perfectly innocent Iraq. They have lost to date - 660,00 innocent people ? - of course they want blood too!
Bin Laden's goal was to avenge the devastation of American-led policy in the Middle-East before 911.
If I was in charge of security? We would get out of Iraq NOW, we would try to help them repair their devastated country, accept as many refugees as possible, and we would also right ALL the wrongs of the Palestinian crisis. These are the terrible consequences of the West's involvement and funding of wars in their lands.
For security against home-grown terrorists, we need to look to MI5 in the UK where a long trial has just finished - 5 men found guilty.
By the way, right now, the 'home-grown threat' seems to be coming exclusively from terrorist citizens with guns on killing sprees, and poorly enforced procedures.
Is America in danger of another massive terrorist attack? That depends on who was behind the first one - we still don't know.
(Apologies to Henry and your post, as this is completely off your original topic).

We do not need to go to Guatemala or Punjab. Let us go to Iraq. There is very simple way to resolve the conquest: Let the invaders (The Western Allies) leave the country and go back to their homes. Let them not interfere in the affairs of the other nations in the name of democracy. There are above 700.000 civilian casualties in Iraq. Why? Are the allies waiting to complete it into one MILLION? What kind of civilization and democracy!!! We want answers for that from those who preach the democracy. Who appointed those countries as protectors of democracy? They interfere only because of OIL!

In South America we see peace around, where there is no monopoly for the USA. We still see troubles were the USA having puppets and bases.

Let every OCCUPYING COUNTRY withdraw from the occupied territories; then there will be peace and no civilians killing and no check points!!!!

It used to be that people in third world dictatorships would ask their governments to allow them freedom the same as americans enjoyed then. Today, they are not there yet but are making some progress. One thing is sure though: they would never trade their freedom for the american one, that is how much worse things have gotten since sept. 11. It was one great american leader that said that those who would give up their freedom for security, don't deserve the security in the first place.

I would have thought that by now the American People, if not their Government, would accept the fact that the Terrorists have Won. The terrorists don't have to perform any more nasty deeds on this continent to further terrorize and demoralize the American Government, it's leaders and the people. The resulting fear of terror that the U.S. Government imposes on it's populace has taken away the majority of freedoms from the American people and in it's weakness, now attempts to intimidate us with their flawed policies. Wake up George W. and be accountable to your citizens and leave the citizens of our country out of your mess. This is the era of lost Freedoms for American Citizens world-wide. At least take credit for that George W. However, you have no right to impose your flawed laws upon Canadians on Canadian soil.

I lived on the border when young and had occasion to cross it more than once a day on occasion. Then it became a matter of rarity as I moved away : but vacation travels often beckoned.
No habeas corpus. No charges. No trial. Jail in an incredibly abusive system. No protection. No rights. No thanks.
Congratulations to Mr. Day for standing firm on Canadian sovereignty are in order. Would that I believed similar policies will be followed in other matters where Canadians depend on the protections afforded by good government : the keeping of their citizenry safe from abuse.

Dear BS, My answer is: I wouldn't like it at all. I know exactly how it feels. It has happened to me many times. Buses I rode were routinely stopped, emptied, everything gone through while we were lined up outside, everyone's documentation checked, all at the hands of mostly very young soldiers with automatic weapons. This was in 1983/84 in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicargua, and El Salvador. It happened to me in each country more than once. In Guatemala and El Salvador, it was a routine every 50 kms or so. In Israel, in 1987, before boarding a plane, we had to line up, walk into a hangar, line up again, and while someone went through our baggage, we were individualy taken aside and interrogated. In 1988, my bus was stopped three times in the Punjab by government forces. They were all heavily armed. They always made us get off and line up. It always took a long time, and it was searingly hot! I didn't like any of it. But, I understood why. In every place I mentioned, many civilians had been recently butchered, and their families, friends, neighbors, opposition parties, and many others were screaming at the government to protect them. And the government didn't know what else to do! And I still haven't heard any suggestions from any posters here. As a clarificatioin: I do NOT want American officials finger-printing on Canadian soil! I don't want them doing ANYTHING on our soil. They can do their jobs on their side of the border. My "reality check" was to try and explain the predicament this US administration and the next is in, which is that they are "damned if they do and damned if they don't." Like in the 80's and the 90's in the places I mentioned above. In those places I went to where there is now peace - Central America, the Punjab - the security measures were relaxed AFTER A CEASE-FIRE, WHICH INCLUDED ALL WARRING PARTIES, was agreed to and signed! I am unaware if any other way in which conflicts are resolved, other than one side vanquishes the other.

Stockwell Day is exactly correct, in my opinion, when he states an unequivocal "NO" to fingerprinting people who decline to cross the border. The idea of fingerprinting those who do elect to cross the border at the Peace Bridge (or other U.S/Canada borders) is separate from the concept of forcefully ensnaring those who decline a service and further suggests that "everyone is guilty of something", therefore it is okay to ignore hundreds of years of Common Law without open, public and careful debate. The whole plan of piggybacking one concept on the back of another which may or may not have merit is simply corrupt--again, in my opinion.

Jeff Wilson, here's your reality check: the list of countries-of-birth that causes you to be fingerprinted has nothing to do with real security. It's not like people from *every* country are fingerprinted, or even every muslim country. "Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria" are cited as examples, but for a "put yourselves in their shoes argument" try this: If you're born in one of those countries, even if you've been a Canadian citizen for 30 years or more, even if you gave up any citizenship besides Canadian, you have to be fingerprinted like you're automatically criminal and have a dossier created in DHS archives. Meanwhile, citizens of the 9/11 hijackers' countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Lebanon), or the base of the Taliban and Al Qaida (Pakistan), or the 7/7 bombers (all UK-born - just like Richard Reid) are all able walk through un-fingerprinted, never being subjected some "guilty of being born in the wrong place" judgement. And now the DHS wants pieces of Canadian soil on which to continue this neo-stalinist mockery of real security? A hard and cold "NO" is all this measure deserves from Canadian officials.

Dear Suzanne, What about the NOW constant calls to attack America and the constant references to future attacks that can be seen daily on the web, Al Jazeera, and network TV?

Should we not believe these people? Are their calls to destroy America and their threats of upcoming attacks merely the empty rhetoric of ranting lunatics? Really?

And what about the thousands who attend these speaking engagements and cheer wildly for America's destruction? Are they just out for some noon-time fun and frolic? Really?

Here's a simple question: Do you think that America is in danger of another massive terrorist attack? Yes, or no.

If no, then I can understand why you think security measures in America have gone way over-board.

If yes, then again I ask you: What would you do differently if you were in charge of America's security?

With regard to your mention of the home-grown, mass-murduring-terrorists in other countries, what do you think the answer to the threat of home-grown terrorists in America should be?

Thank you.

We do not want to tell the Americans, in this administration or the coming one, what to do or not to do. Let them do it on their own soil and not on the Canadian soil. They are who created Al-Qa’idah and we suffered enough losing our loved one in the towers and in Afghanistan. It is their policies around the world. Let them bear the consequences. Leave us alone.

Whether it is fingerprints or pictures or DNA, where does our right to privacy begin? The slavemasters of previous generations are all modernized and rational in this day and age, saying we must fight to protect our "freedom" while we surrender it all the way to their data banks? Slaves have no privacy or excuses because the master has every right to examine everything belonging to him, or incarcerate or beat him. If we may choose, let us choose freedom while we are free. If we have no choice, we may have to buy it back. The apostle Paul in a far removed generation replied to a Roman captain about his Roman citizenship and that freedom:
"And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born."

Born Canadian or born American or born Roman, are we free? Is a slavemaster free? He thinks so, but he is and will be as much a slave to the system he has created as those he abuses.

I'd like to reply to a previous post of a "Reality Check" where the writer reminds us that no further attacks have happened on American soil, and the dire consequences if it does.

At the risk of being tiresome re '911 truth', a Zogby Poll conducted in August 04 showed two thirds of Americans think there should be another investigation into 911 - 50% of New Yorkers thought there was some Government involvement. These are shocking numbers. And until this is resolved, and all the evidence revealed (perhaps with the Cheney/Bush impeachment process now started in Vermont) all the finger printing in the world will not solve anything.

Bombings in the other countries mentioned, including London, were in part caused by their own citizens, no passports needed.

So maybe the next step is to fingerprint all US citizens from certain Middle Eastern countries just in case. Talking about polls, I saw one done in the US recently where half of respondents thought those of Middle Eastern origin should have some type of formal identification - (arm-bands perhaps?).
The reference to Nazi Germany in a previous post isn't so far fetched. They also used an 'Inside Job' as an excuse to go to war.

This is slightly off topic of the original post, but it seems the security measures have 'smoke and mirrors' element to them to deflect what has really gone on in the States in the last half dozen years. On a PBS Boston show recently the commentator observed that America is going to have to (figuratively!) throw up, be sick, purge itself-like one does after an extreme binge - before they can see 'light of day', no pun intended re Stockwell Day, and all the garbage comes out so America can start again as a trully humane Nation.

Reality check: Any future American administration from now on is damned if they do and damned if they don't. So, do they appease the people who don't like getting finger-printed? Or, do they play it very safe? There has been no attack on American soil for more than five years. But there have been many, many calls to attack America, and many, many threats and references to future attacks. Meanwhile, London, Madrid, Algeria, Bali... etc, have been attacked with horrendous civilian casualties. These are facts! How can we forget them? And, you are right; it is very sad, this post 9/11 world! But your sadness at seeing people lined up and finger-printed, pales infinitely when compared to the sadness of one who suffered the worst loss of all: The senseless, horrific death of an utterly innocent loved one! Let's get real! OK? Think! Don't just feel sad. You haven't lost anyone, you are not hurting like those who have, and so you should be able to think clearly. If the next American administration lets up even one iota, and then there is another attack on American soil, the wrath of America that will befall this next Administration will be a million times greater than the wrath heaped upon W. Bush's administration for being so lax prior to the 9/11. Do you remember the anger (and din't you, at the very least, just shake your head!) about the fact that the terrorists took flying lessons but said they didn't want to learn how to land a plane and no suspicions nor precautions were raised? Remember? If such laxness happens again, all you who comlain now, will point fingers again. Unless you went down in the plane. Let's get real! No, and I repeat: NO FUTURE AMERICAN ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO BE THE ONE WHO GOT CAUGHT UNPREPARED! And so, there will be no let up. So get used to it. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want to be in charge when your system failed and children were blown up? Think about it!

How can the Americans even begin to believe that it is reasonable to fingerprint someone who has chosen not to enter their country?

It saddens me to see how arrogant and xenophobic our neighbour has become.

Well done Mr Day for making the right choice. I'm prepared to sacrifice economic prosperity if that's the consequence of refusing to be bullied.

I spend a good portion of my life traveling to or through the US and I have had to submit to all sorts of inspections, delays, interviews, searches, etc. I have never been refused access at any point in my career. I've been to Japan and I've been to China - each country exercises their own unique brand of security precaution, 9/11 or no. So relax, most Americans are oblivious anyway so what's going to change? Here in Vegas it's the tables attracting all the attention. So long as the state continues to exempt wages from taxation people here are happy. So long as people are content and blind to the realities of what their government is doing to limit their own civil liberties nothing will ever change. That's the secret by the way, elect a PR guy to the presidency, a hale-fellow-well-met sort of doofus and the populace can go to sleep for the next 8 years. Remember, Americans only woke to the fact that their president wasn't doing his gig at all well when Katrina ripped the scales from their eyes. Suddenly they woke up en masse and noticed the Iraq fiasco to boot. Now they're all over the thing and it is not cool to be a neo-con any longer. Maybe someday they may take a more informed approach to those things threatening their liberties but not today I fear.

Good on Day. Not my favorite person but I will stand by him on this decision.
Both of my parents were from Eastern European contries and lived either under the Nazis jack-boot or the oppresive comunist regime. They taught me quite well the extent that a government will go to "defend its interests"
I decided over a decade ago to never enter the U.S. again afer the rough treatment by U.S. border guards.
I served in the Canadian army in Germany in the 70s and found it odd that I could drive between the various countries and simply get waved through. These countries have untill recently been at constant war with each other and yet our "allies" in the U.S. treat us like criminals.
To all of those people that would lose their liberty for a feeling of safety, go live in under a dictatorship for a while.

Amerika has lost it's way. As tragic as 9/11 was and with unquestioned political import, it was not an event of such significance as to justify the alarming erosion of civil rights via Homeland Security and other agencies. A paranoid such as myself might think that much of the population control measures put in place are the fulfilment of some long held ambitions.

Fingerprinting and soldiers with machine guns in airports may reassure the sheep, but will do little to deter a smart terrorist. I'm with Ben Franklin on this one: "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security".

Corresponding with Americans indicates an increasing schism between people who "get it", and the apparent majority who cling to erroneous beliefs such as Iraq's possession of WMD and still firmly back Bush's "you're with us, or you're with the terrorists."

It's scary times south of the border, and I certainly wouldn't want to be brown. Canadians, much to the disbelief of most Americans, enjoy a distinctly different, and I think, a healthier culture. Let's hope the Canadian government strives to keep it that way.

I am so sick of the US's big stick approach when it encounters any opposition.

We teach kids in school about the consequences of bullying, why not live by example?

Although I disagree with many of Minister Day's policies, the decision to hold the line on our current civil liberites and tell the Yanks to go stuff themselves, is a decision I support. They cannot nor should not bully us into submission.

Bravo Minister Day!

Canada seems to take special pride and gloating rights every time they "stick it" to the United States. Sadly, most people in the U.S. never hear about this. If they did, Toronto's tourist trade would be in even worse shape than it is now.

I hope that we have and will have a government that will defend our rights and sovereignty rather than become complicit in the neo-na...er neo-con situation that has taken over the US. Some foreign power deciding to detain our citizens in our country at their discretion does not fit into my ideas of "Freedom, Liberty and Justice". They can keep theirs at home and leave us ours.

Does anyone think that taking fingerprints at the US-Canada border would stop a "9/11" attack? Despite what the US media said at that time, the names of alleged hijackers published so soon after did not come from Canada, they were Saudis supposedly in the US. Many now known to be alive and wondering what they had to do with crashing any planes. If they had the fingerprints of these guys would they have been showing up on debris in the World Trade Center...would it have prevented this happening?

So what would the US government do with your fingerprints, how will you know? Next, are they going to want your iris scan, DNA sample and embed RFID in your body to track you as a visitor?

@ Randy.

Yes, I know about the Security and Prosperity Partnership, which I find is despicable since it negates the sovereignty of both the US and Canada. However, even then should it give US Border Patrol the right to do whatever it pleases, even with US citizens like me? I've gone through multiple border crossings between the US and Canada, by land and by air, and the US Customs/Border Patrol always seem to be more tougher than Canadian Customs/Border Services Agency. I've always wondered why that is.

Being a dual-citizen who crosses the border often twice a day I have had nothing but positive experiences with the guards on both sides. They have a job to do. Let them do it. After 9-11 the world changed, get over it. For the Canadians who are frustrated waiting in lines for passports get mad at your unresponsive government. My US passport is good for 10 years as are all other countries I know of except Canada. I stopped using a Canadian passport over 35 years ago.

The cancerous wart that is the present American federal government bears no resemblence at all to American society as I have perceived and experienced it. In a few short years, America has morphed from the Land of the Free to the Land of Guilty until proven Innocent. Sweeping up information on people because they might, kind of, in some unspecified way be thinking, planning, or carrying out an unspecified or undefined act which may turn out to be crimminal is the hallmark of Stasi, the KGB and the other state terror institutes of the old Evil Empire. The American people deserve better, and they deserve our friendship. WE deserve better from our American "allies", but I guess nearly two centuries of peace and cooperation isn't worth a hill of beans, now, as we did not support Bush's Amerika Uber-Alles policies and war.

I have made it my personal choice not to set foot in the US since shortly after 9/11. I actually resent the idea of having a US customs agent on any square inch of Canadian soil, let alone one who has authority to fingerprint me.

Stockwell Day is not a hero here - he is following the law . What disturbed me were Day's comments after negotiations broke off that went along the lines of "at least they (US customs) could still question suspicious people, if not fingerprint them".

Right - they can question me in my own country? I think not - stay the hell out!

I applaud Minister Day for enforcing the practicing of Canada's laws and freedoms on her own soil. If the Canadian Border Patrol were to function on the American side of the border, I'm sure we'd be expected to undertake measures that complied with the US rules -- and that would make perfect sense. But, this is our country, so they must abide by our rules.

Their poor planning (in terms of space) should not infringe on the way the Canadian Border Patrol conducts their business.

The fingerprinting issues arises because the US govt. established a black-list of certain countries which if you are born in (regardless of Canadian citizenship), will result in you being fingerprinted every time you enter the US. This list does not include the countries most Al Qaida people come from, but is instead composed of countries the US has some political grudge against. If you're born in one of those places, even with Canadian citizenship, you're not considered Canadian by the DHS, and they fingerprint you automatically. No wonder the Canadian government opposes this purposeless discrimination taking place on Canadian soil - it would be lawsuit-city! While Stockwell Day might or might not choose to stand up to the US on this front, my real concern is the Security and Prosperity Partnership, whose final goal is erasure of the border and common citizenship with the US. In that context you can look at these border problems, and out overwhelmed passport system as part of the plan to convince Canadians to abandon our sovereignty and citizenship in the name of expediency. It's not the border itself which is the problem, it is the effect of unwanted and unrealistic security policies.

I am with Paul Klimstra on this one. An acquaintance of mine had a very similar experience to his girlfriend. This lady, a German citizen married to a Canadian and living in Canada, was flying direct from her home in Whitehorse to Frankfurt on a German airline over the polar route. During a refueling stop in Alaska, the passengers disembarked and she and many others were forced to give their fingerprints, etc.

That story alone has now prompted my own decision to never, EVER fly into the United States again, or on any flight overseas that stops in the US for refuelling.

I always figured that the day they ask for my fingerprints at the border to Alaska when I cross by car is the day I stop visiting the US. I had no idea that I could in fact be *detained* there for refusing, rather than be allowed to turn around and go home. Guess that means that decision has been made, too.

For all their talk of freedom and liberty, the US is rapidly becoming a police state. How on earth did the American people allow this to happen? Watch closely, and learn.

Wait until the North American Union is put into place. This is a smoke screen of bickering covering up the real story of economic and security integration with our friends to the south.

If my dad, rest his soul, heard me say this, he would roll over and cover his ears. But here goes anyway, I am about to congratulate a Conservative - for the very first time.

Congratulations, Stockwell Day. Good on ya, Mate. And thank you for getting it right. We need more decisions like this. Keep it up and your boss may get some grit of his own.

Sigh..."'Lest We Forget...". It seems the US's history professors have left out a few issues relating to Human Rights. Many agree that the Bill of Human Rights (which the US has not signed) really found it's footing after the Nürnberg Trials in Germany. The policies that the US is putting into place STINK of the injustices BEGUN in the mid 1920's by the Nazi party. Systematic documentation of innocent people in the name of "Home Land Security" (read: The Protection of the Aryan Race, and you get the same feeling of horror). We as a global community, in our innocence of the '20s and 30s, allowed the Nazis of Germany to continue their programs WITHOUT CENSOR. These then lead to the extermination of most of the "Unfavourable" populations of Europe.
We as Canadians have the right to our own laws. But we must also take on Big Brother south of our border and scream out, as no one did for the millions of voiceless victims in Europe during the time of the Nazis, and call on the International Community to pressure the US (and to some extent Britain and Australia) to repeal it's laws and return the rights of Humans back to the American people. Because it looks like no one else will do it for them.

An earlier comment wondered when the "war on Terror" would end. It won't until another threat appears. It appears from the last 100 years that US defines itself by who its enemies are! First the Spanish(-American) War, 1898), then Austro-Prussia, the the Nazis, and then Communism, then Iran, Iraq, and now the terrorists. The only difference with the latter is that they move around more frequently than the former enemies did.

I have travelled to the US numerous times pre and post 9/11. I have noticed the dramatic difference in the way custom agents treat me on the US. I am of south Asian descent, and for those who have not been subjected to the embrassement of being fingerprinted, then those who are in favour of this policy should not speak. I have done nothing wrong, so why should i submit my finger prints? I think it is ridiculous! I applaud the Canadian government for taking a stance of this issue, not matter how the much pressure they are under to conform. We do not live in the US, why should we have to implement US ideas in a Canadian system.

I was reading the comments and it reminded me of some of the key fundamental differences between Canada and the U.S. Those are pretty well summed up in our respective constitutions.

The entire U.S. system rests on principles of Liberty, Freedom and Justice. In Canada, our constitution is based on Peace, Order and Good Government. In France, as another example, it is Libety, Fraternity and Equality. Principles like these shape a nation.

My advice is 'do not rest too easy' on this apparent victory against American encroachment on our sovereignty.

Have you not heard of the SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership)? If you were wondering what S Harper's secret agenda is, I am sure this is it. Once he gets his majority, Stockwell Day will jump aboard the SPP bandwagon faster than you can blink and Canadians will be living in the same corporate, neo-con maltopia the Americans do today thanks to Bush/Cheney & Company.

In the world of today to try and continue in the old Canadian way is History. It does not seem unreasonable to me to submit my fingerprints etc. Its my neck too.

Never thought I would think or say, let alone type them, but here goes. Right on Mr Day, you are doing yourself and this country proud

I am a Canadian citizen born in Canada. I have crossed into the US may times without issue. I have had far more difficulty with Canadian Customs than with US Customs. I once had a Candian Customs agent in Quebec ask me what the purpose of my visit was. My visit to Quebec! It's time for people to lighten up a little.

I also applaud Stockwell Day on this decision (and I am completely surprised that he didn't cave). As a Canadian observing America's rapid descent into warmongering and paranoia I wonder who on earth would bother crossing the border? How long before they start fingerprinting their own citizens under the guise that people who don't want to be fingerprinted must automatically be criminals? What a twisted nation.

When my girlfriend, who lives in and is a citizen of New Zealand, came up to visit me last summer her flight from Australia landed in Hawaii for a pre-arranged fuel stop. Everyone got off the airplane for safety reasons.

All passengers who were not Canadian or American citizens were photographed, had their height and weight measured, and their fingerprints taken, in exchange for a 90 day visa (which my girlfriend had no desire to use).

On my return from New Zealand this February I waited in line as everyone in the "non-American" line had their photo and fingerprints taken at Los Angeles airport. I walked up and said to the U.S. Customs officer that he had, "An easy one. Canadian citizen transferring to a flight to Toronto." He glanced at my passport and waved me through.

If this policy is to change, and I am to be photographed and fingerprinted, I will go out of my way to never set foot on U.S. soil again, pure and simple.

Mr. Champ's article establishes clearly the complexity of recognizing individual rights and abiding by divergent laws. Similarily a comment from Joe (Detroit), makes an excellent point wherein the few "bad" people could make repeated efforts to cross [with illegal goods] without penalty. I was taught that good fences, make for the best neighbours and suggest that a bridge-apart works well to serve the same cause, in this situation!

I have a simple solution. Don't go to the U.S.! The poisonous Gestapo philosophy that everyone entering the U.S. is a criminal or terrorist is rather discombobulating. And if that's the way it's going to be, I can take my business elsewhere. I've been doing that for several years. I spend my vacations in Europe and here in Canada. I am not compelled to visit the U.S. That era is over.

Isn't that what people fought three wars for?

Yes that peace action in-between the two great wars was a war...- and now there is another which lives are being laid down once more for.

The rigor and fierceness with which American citizens rightfully defend their civil rights is reasonable. We are doing the same. American civil rights do not apply on Canadian soil, nor should they. There are fewer people negatively affected if the American checkpoint remains on American soil.

As for the Border Guards being overzealous with vehicle and other searches, I have no problem with this. Both Canadian and American Guards are on a very real front line of defense. If their suspicions are triggered by someone’s appearance, manner, (or mouth), so be it. They are protecting both sides by aggressively searching for terrorists of any stripe.

Well... I am surprised. Good on Stockwell. I guess I owe him an apology, which I hereby make.

Cheers,
dba

It is truly scary when Canadians' civil liberties are in the hands of Mr. Day. To be fair, he has, so far, shown to be resolute in many areas where our freedoms are traditionally protected, to the surprise of many of us. But whether he can stand up to the corporate bottom line bullies who hold sway on so much of this country's lifelines, is another matter.
I will NOT permit anyone to take my finger prints. It is none of their damn business.
And if that means I do not visit the USA again, so be it.

It's sad to watch our freedoms and liberties being trampled upon in the name of security. Realistically, it's been this way since the last days of World War II and the Cold War.

Today the marketing mantle of the power elite in Washington is `terror`.

I sincerely hope Canada has room for me and my family, we are good and hard working people, should the civil restrictions in the US become so absurd it's hard to pursue life, liberty and happiness here.

I don't understand. US immigration is based in Toronto Int Airport and fingerprints passengers to US. Does that not violate this law?

to dj

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection have preclearance facilities at eight Canadian airports. It is done to make travel to the U.S. easier and to relieve congestion at busy American airports.

While you are in a preclearance facility you are subject to Canadian law, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and Canadian criminal law. You may withdraw your request to enter the U.S. at anytime and may leave the pre-clearance area at anytime unless a US preclearance officer suspects on reasonable grounds that you have made a false or deceptive statement or if you have obstructed an officer. The officer may detain you, but he or she must turn you over to a Canadian law officer.

The issue here is fingerprinting...at the pre-clearnce facilities at airports, you can be asked to provide fingerprints but you can decline and leave the area without penalty.

At the landsites such as the Peace bridge, the American authorities wanted the right to demand a fingerprinting and to detain those who refused.

h

That's weird. We cross the border fairly regularly at Thousand Islands, and we've never been finger printed. Why would the Peace Bridge be different? Is it just the amount of traffic it gets - ie, more business crossing, thus more likely to be attacked, thus in greater need of the protection afforded by fingerprinting?

Stand strong Canada! Either the US figures out how to correct their own issue ... or get back to their own side of the border. We should not be forced to give up our rights for the fears of Americans. Perhaps they'll need to spend a little extra money to buy out those residents whose homes are 'in the way'.

This should be a non-issue. U.S. Customs authorities operating in Canada should be exempt from following the rules much in the same way that embassies and consulates are considered the territory of the nation which they represent. Before anyone jumps down my throat, I would expect things to operate the same way for Canadian Customs officials operating on the U.S. side of the border.

The reason U.S. Customas wants the ability to fingerprint those not crossing into the U.S. is quite simple - They want to eliminate you having a free shot at smuggling contraband across the border.

When I was coming home from Vancouver in January of 2002, I found myself wishing I had the biggest sack of bud ever. The reason? U.S. Customs had set up shop in the Vancouver airport to pre-clear passengers for entry to the U.S. I realised that if I was transporting something illegal, such as drugs, if U.S. Customs wanted to inspect my luggage, all I had to do was simply turn around and go back to my hotel.

If the tables were turned, I am sure Canadian authorities on the American side of the border would not appreciate having no means to track those they suspect of trying to smuggle firearms into Canada. I could drive a truck with 50 guns right up to the checkpoint and if they ask to search my vehicle, I simply have to say no and leave. What U.S. law am I breaking by having 50 guns? Answer: Probably not a single one.

It makes me feel very proud when I read a story like this one. Proud because I belong to a country whose government respects its citizens and vice versa. Despite the Sponsorship Scandal, unstable minority governments and varying degrees of poltical nepotism, Canadians have a lot of faith in their government. In turn, the government affords us the freedoms, liberties and protections of responsible citizens. There are many countries in the world, not just the United States, where these rights are not so liberally and equitably afforded. The above case, to me, presents a perfect illustration of it.

Good for Stockwell Day. There is absolutely no reason those who prefer to exercise their legal right not to be fingerprinted rather than enter the United States should have that right violated. The Americans value their lucrative business with Canada just as much as we value our business with them. So if they want that business to continue unabated, they should stop acting like a big bully and remember that Canada is not just another one of their states.

Huge markets exist, China, India, Russia, EU, we have no need to trade with U.S., oh sorry, NAFTA requires it, by law, and as Canadians, we respect the rules!

The fingerprinting issue pales in comparison to all the other provisions of the US Military Commissions Act once we Canadians enter the US. At least the Brits held firm, demanded and received an exemption from the Act's complete stripping of individual rights under State, federal, international and human rights laws. We Canadians have NO RIGHTS at all once we cross the border. The wonder of it all is that anyone still wants to go there; if more people really knew about the Military Commissions Act, they probably wouldn't. Summary arrrest; no right to representation of your choice; no right to hear and question the evidence against you; held incommunicado; subject to torture; subject to the death penalty; etc. etc. Can't happen to you? No? Maher Arar didn't think so, did he? Googling "Military Commissions Act" will produce over haf a million page hits. Reading even the first five should waken us Canadians up.

If I was Canadian, I wouldn't want the U.S. Border Patrol on my side of the border. The Bush Administration (with its twisted sense of logic) might try to make a case that Canada was an occupied country.

I certainly hope we have the moral fortitude to maintain our position and not cave to econmomic pressure as we have done so often in the past to a bullish American government.

Mr Champ's article, to me, is very good at reflecting on the US border policy. For some reason (which I don't understand) the US Border Patrol, when someone crosses the US/Canada border, gives no one exceptions, not even US citizens like me. I remember one time my parents and I were leaving Canada to come home in Rhode Island after a vacation in the Charlevoix region of Québec. Border Patrol decided to search the car, until Dad mentioned that he was a lawyer. Even then, it's much worse. I've heard stories from relatives - even a US government employee - who've been given the beef of the US Border Patrol. Whilst I am not criticizing the people in the Border Patrol for their work - they are doing what they are told their job is - I just wish they would lighten up a bit and not be so strict. When I go through Canadian customs, at least the people at the Canada Border Services Agency make the effort to not be uber-strict with people.

In light of the recent US Government policy where passports are now required, this scares me more and more. Fortunately I've had a passport for several years now, after several school trips to Europe and multiple transborder trips between Canada and my family in Rhode Island. Honestly, I wouldn't want to get fingerprinted, in case the fingerprints get misused for something else. When is the US Government's terrorism pre-occupation ever going to end?

United States is a nation of laws, adding new laws daily and has encroached on the rights of its citizens in the name of "National Security". The nation is regularly imposing itself on the rest of the world including its neighbor, Canada. Many United States citizens have been or will have been at some point incarcerated for ridiculous reasons. There are no privacy rights what so ever here in the US. The people are constantly being probed, stopped, houses broken into by force, police killing innocent citizens daily, in the name of “National Security”… Canada is not perfect but the U.S. could learn a great deal from our neighbor and its citizens.

What's the word on guns? Is Day taking a similarly tough stand on letting US border guards enter Canada with handguns?

Does anybody know?