Canada Border Services Agency
I’ve had lots of problems with these guys in the past, with importing things that are legal, but because of some sort of circumstance, the definition can be twisted into making it seem illegal. Such as pocket knives where the pivots are so loose that the knife blade can swing out easily. Nearly every single pocket knife with a screw pivot can be made to do this… by simply loosening up the screw. Just like any Automatic switchblade knife can have the pivot tightened to the point where it does not spring open. Does that make the switchblade legal? No. But then why does loosening the pivot make the regular knife illegal?
The problem here is that the CBSA represents the only thing standing in your way coming over the border, and they report to no one. When you appeal a decision by the CBSA, they simply review it with other officers from.. you guessed it.. the CBSA. You can appeal and take them to court, which is costly and time consuming.. not something you’d normally do over a $100 knife… which means they win.
I’ve been stopped once and scrutinized by CBSA at the border.. they went through all my stuff… asked me questions about where I worked and interogated me about my previous jobs and what I did on ebay… when I was returning from a trip with friends in Vegas. For 45 minutes I was treated like I had done something wrong. I’ll have to give them tons of credit for being very polite and cordial the whole time, but it was embarassing, and makes me feel less safe about travelling. Rather than making me feel safe that they are not making sure criminials are coming through, I felt violated and treated like I might have done something wrong, when I have not. The whole conspiracy thing comes to mind. I don’t want to be put in jail for a week for no reason simply because they can. It has happened before.
So anyway, back to the topic of importing stuff. This guy imports a TRANSFORMERS MEGATRON TOY.. yes, a plastic, transforming toy.. and since it transforms into a gun, the CBSA decides to confiscate it.. What the hell? I had one of those when I was 10… before my neighbor stole it.
Anyway… this is the world we live in. Lets worry about the toy and not the real criminals… if they weren’t letting any drugs or illegal arms in at all and doing a good job with that, it would be a different matter, but they are.. because the reality is there are illegal arms and drugs in Canada. So why devote so much effort to protect us from these plastic toys when there are real threats out there?
If you guys ever watched the TV Show “The Border”, you’d find it really funny picturing all those guys sitting around a boardroom table examining this toy.. calling the prime minister and the US embassy to get their opinion on it.
What a joke.