What's happening on the borders of our country will have repercussions sometime in the near future if not already underway. Our courts and our judicial system are successfully strangling Canada while we look on helplessly. Holders of the FAST and Nexus cards, once granted the passes, are not even checked annually for criminal records and such. More than 172,000 passes have been handed out since the system was introduced in 2000. How many of these cards are now in the wrong hands? Your guess is as good as mine.
OTTAWA - Canada's border agency has been waving through travellers at entry points even though it has information some may be working for organized crime, an internal report suggests.....
....Records outlining the problem were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The documents note that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which also issues Nexus and FAST cards, has no qualms about using intelligence information alone to deny membership.
The different policy in Canada suggests departments have become spooked by the Canadian judicial system, where courts have recently pressed CSIS and others to divulge information that security agencies consider highly secret and damaging if made public.... read the whole thing
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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I live on the border but never use Nexus and never will despite there being a dedicated lane for Nexus users.
ReplyDeleteI had a card once but was 'caught' bringing a dozen beer into Canada without declaring it. They let me keep the beer and gave me a warning but I was pissed none the less.
You see, with Nexus you have to declare ANYTHING you buy in the States on a card they provide and once you've filled it out and deposited it in the receptical provided they total the duty and taxes owed (plus lost LCBO profit for liquor here in Ontario) and charge your credit card automatically.
On the other hand, if I buy a dozen beer and use my passport at the border they ask to see my recipt to confirm that it is only a dozen beer and not eighteen or, god forbid, a two four and then wave you through.
Since I've usually also spent seventy or eighty bucks on groceries I appreciate not having to pay the extra charges.
The Americans returning to the States are allowed $200 per person daily duty-free.