Tell us: Have you ever had a bad experience with a Canadian border official?
Have you ever had an uncomfortable encounter with a Canadian border agent? Whether it’s travelling on land or air, Canadians have come out in scores to reveal their displeasure with frontline workers.
According to The Canadian Press, the Canada Border Services Agency received over 100 founded complaints from travellers in 2017-2018.
Some of the 105 complaints include allegations of racism, rudeness and disrespectful language by CBSA officers.
The descriptions of some of the complaints obtained by The Canadian Press through access to information legislation are scant but telling. Here are some of the allegations:
“Client states the border service officer was rude and yelled at her until she passed out.”
{A border officer} “was yelling and berated travellers, swore at the clients, lacked respect.”
{An officer} “was racist, called the client ugly, abused his authority.”
“Clients were targeted … mistreated, denied a translator.”
The CBSA will be included in a wider review of oversight systems the federal government is working on, says Scott Bardsely, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
He says the ministry “is advancing legislation to create a new expert review body, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency.”
So we want to know – have you ever had an issue with border services? Vote in the poll above and tell us your complaint or encounter in the comments below.
