Canada to reopen borders to nonessential travel- first to Americans

[ghYHZ]

Passed through the border around 0915 today, and it involved two checkpoints. That's one more than usual for the uninformed.

Driving north on I-5, US CBP had the lanes closed just past the final exit to Blaine, and directed all traffic into a small lay-by. Each car was stopped, asked to shut the engine off and provide keys to an agent.....

Well that would be physical contact. How many other key sets had he touched that day? Hope he had gloves on and changed them each time.

[Scott5114]

The COVID spread by physical contact is extremely low.

[jakeroot]

So, that exit check I mentioned was a first for me. I have gone through the WA-BC border more times that I could possibly count, and I have never encountered them.

This is where I was stopped: https://goo.gl/maps/nLVd8jpcguZNCQ2a8

Based on the setup, it seems pretty apparent that the checkpoint was designed to exist at that point. I've just never seen it happen. The lights were flashing red, cones setup to file traffic into the right lane, and the bollards on the right removed. There was about five to eight CBP agents.

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

[jakeroot]

Passed through the border around 0915 today, and it involved two checkpoints. That's one more than usual for the uninformed.

Driving north on I-5, US CBP had the lanes closed just past the final exit to Blaine, and directed all traffic into a small lay-by. Each car was stopped, asked to shut the engine off and provide keys to an agent.....

Well that would be physical contact. How many other key sets had he touched that day? Hope he had gloves on and changed them each time.

He did have gloves on. Oddly, he forgot to give me the key back and I had to ask him where he put it (he set it on my roof where I couldn't see it).

[zzcarp]

So, that exit check I mentioned was a first for me. I have gone through the WA-BC border more times that I could possibly count, and I have never encountered them.

This is where I was stopped: https://goo.gl/maps/nLVd8jpcguZNCQ2a8

Based on the setup, it seems pretty apparent that the checkpoint was designed to exist at that point. I've just never seen it happen. The lights were flashing red, cones setup to file traffic into the right lane, and the bollards on the right removed. There was about five to eight CBP agents.

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

Literally nothing. Just justifying their existence.

[vdeane]

I would never want to deal with such a thing.  I can't stand people going through my stuff and potentially breaking things (not to mention disrupting how everything is organized and scratching the paint on the car by leaving keys on the roof!).  I highly doubt they're being even remotely careful, certainly not by my standards.  Plus who needs everyone around them to see their luggage?  If someone needs to take certain medical items with them, that's a huge breach of privacy and arguably a HIPPA violation.

Stuff like this makes me never want to cross the border ever again.  CBP needs to be abolished NOW.

[TXtoNJ]

So, that exit check I mentioned was a first for me. I have gone through the WA-BC border more times that I could possibly count, and I have never encountered them.

This is where I was stopped: https://goo.gl/maps/nLVd8jpcguZNCQ2a8

Based on the setup, it seems pretty apparent that the checkpoint was designed to exist at that point. I've just never seen it happen. The lights were flashing red, cones setup to file traffic into the right lane, and the bollards on the right removed. There was about five to eight CBP agents.

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

The border's the one place where Fourth Amendment protections don't apply.

Canada having been shut down for more than a year and a half has drastically increased drug prices. There's a lot of money to be made if you can get cocaine north of the border. That's almost certainly what the checks are about.

[kkt]

So, that exit check I mentioned was a first for me. I have gone through the WA-BC border more times that I could possibly count, and I have never encountered them.

This is where I was stopped: https://goo.gl/maps/nLVd8jpcguZNCQ2a8

Based on the setup, it seems pretty apparent that the checkpoint was designed to exist at that point. I've just never seen it happen. The lights were flashing red, cones setup to file traffic into the right lane, and the bollards on the right removed. There was about five to eight CBP agents.

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

The border's the one place where Fourth Amendment protections don't apply.

Canada having been shut down for more than a year and a half has drastically increased drug prices. There's a lot of money to be made if you can get cocaine north of the border. That's almost certainly what the checks are about.

And it should be Canada's problem if they want to stop them.

[oscar]

Canada having been shut down for more than a year and a half has drastically increased drug prices. There's a lot of money to be made if you can get cocaine north of the border. That's almost certainly what the checks are about.

That doesn't explain, or justify, the expenditure of US resources on the exit search. Canada can do its own searches upon entry, with more focus on firearms, and cheap U.S. tobacco and booze, than it can expect from U.S. border agents. If the US search means there will be no vehicle search on the Canadian side of the border, that would be nice, but I doubt that will ever happen.

I hope that by the time I travel to Canada, there will be enough returning U.S. citizens to keep CBP border agents busy, so they won't have any agents free for exit searches.

[kphoger]

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

Crossing from the USA into Mexico at the Colombia Solidarity Bridge annually between 2009 and about 2014, I found the CBP exit checkpoint operational more times than not.  I don't think I ever had to exit the vehicle, but they did use mirrors to check under the vehicles.

Canada having been shut down for more than a year and a half has drastically increased drug prices. There's a lot of money to be made if you can get cocaine north of the border. That's almost certainly what the checks are about.

That doesn't explain, or justify, the expenditure of US resources on the exit search. Canada can do its own searches upon entry, with more focus on firearms, and cheap U.S. tobacco and booze, than it can expect from U.S. border agents. If the US search means there will be no vehicle search on the Canadian side of the border, that would be nice, but I doubt that will ever happen.

I hope that by the time I travel to Canada, there will be enough returning U.S. citizens to keep CBP border agents busy, so they won't have any agents free for exit searches.

At the Mexican border, my assumption is that CBP is checking for arms smugglers, as the USA and Mexico are in cooperation against the cartels.

Likewise, I've encountered military checkpoints heading north in Mexico about 40-50 miles before the US border once or twice–at which, on one occasion, the second vehicle in our convoy was flagged over, everyone had to exit the vehicle, and the soldiers looked through their luggage on the side of the highway.  The vehicle was a nice big black SUV covered in dirt, so I think it raised a red flag.  I'm sure they were checking for drugs–which you could argue should be the USA's problem, except that, again, the USA and Mexico are in cooperation on that.

I don't know exactly what's going on with CBP at the northern border right now, but "not my problem" isn't necessarily the best approach to fighting smugglers.  I'm sure the USA has an official vested interest in stopping certain things from leaving the country.

[JayhawkCO]

I would never want to deal with such a thing.  I can't stand people going through my stuff and potentially breaking things (not to mention disrupting how everything is organized and scratching the paint on the car by leaving keys on the roof!).  I highly doubt they're being even remotely careful, certainly not by my standards.  Plus who needs everyone around them to see their luggage?  If someone needs to take certain medical items with them, that's a huge breach of privacy and arguably a HIPPA violation.

Stuff like this makes me never want to cross the border ever again.  CBP needs to be abolished NOW.

Chris

[TXtoNJ]

So, that exit check I mentioned was a first for me. I have gone through the WA-BC border more times that I could possibly count, and I have never encountered them.

This is where I was stopped: https://goo.gl/maps/nLVd8jpcguZNCQ2a8

Based on the setup, it seems pretty apparent that the checkpoint was designed to exist at that point. I've just never seen it happen. The lights were flashing red, cones setup to file traffic into the right lane, and the bollards on the right removed. There was about five to eight CBP agents.

As to their purpose: I don't quite get the idea. Being stopped without reasonable suspicion makes me uncomfortable. My girlfriend was particularly thrown by the experience as they went through her whole bag, handling her underwear, bras, etc. I just don't know what anyone going into Canada is doing to deserve being checked to that degree.

The border's the one place where Fourth Amendment protections don't apply.

Canada having been shut down for more than a year and a half has drastically increased drug prices. There's a lot of money to be made if you can get cocaine north of the border. That's almost certainly what the checks are about.

And it should be Canada's problem if they want to stop them.

I don't think you understand - it looks very good for CBP if they're the ones who make the catches/arrests, rather than CBSA/RCMP. Since there's no constitutional barrier to checkpoints there, and budgets depend on them looking good, this is what you are going to get.

[cbeach40]

At the Mexican border, my assumption is that CBP is checking for arms smugglers, as the USA and Mexico are in cooperation against the cartels.

Likewise, I've encountered military checkpoints heading north in Mexico about 40-50 miles before the US border once or twice–at which, on one occasion, the second vehicle in our convoy was flagged over, everyone had to exit the vehicle, and the soldiers looked through their luggage on the side of the highway.  The vehicle was a nice big black SUV covered in dirt, so I think it raised a red flag.  I'm sure they were checking for drugs–which you could argue should be the USA's problem, except that, again, the USA and Mexico are in cooperation on that.

I don't know exactly what's going on with CBP at the northern border right now, but "not my problem" isn't necessarily the best approach to fighting smugglers.  I'm sure the USA has an official vested interest in stopping certain things from leaving the country.

I mean that's it, the contraband crossing the border is of concern to the destination country, but the people distributing/producing/processing/etc it are the origin country's problem.

Also, I have had CBSA check on the way out. And for what it's worth, have had exit checks in Europe whenever I've flown out of there too.

[kphoger]

I mean that's it, the contraband crossing the border is of concern to the destination country, but the people distributing/producing/processing/etc [and transporting] it are the origin country's problem.

Also, I have had CBSA check on the way out. And for what it's worth, have had exit checks in Europe whenever I've flown out of there too.

Added the item most important to the discussion.  I mean, if US citizens are smuggling things out of the country, how could that not be our concern?

[Alps]

Let me add my own recent experience to this thread.
Into Canada: "Please give us your passport, proof of vaccination, and proof of recent negative test." After review: "How long will you be here?" After my answer and some processing, he handed everything back. It was 4 minutes total.
Into USA: "Are you the registered owner of this vehicle?" Yes... "Did you bring anything back with you?" "How long were you in Canada?" And then I was on my way. It was 3 minutes total.
I have never had a combined experience easier than that, or with fewer questions on either side, let alone both sides.

[zzcarp]

Let me add my own recent experience to this thread.
Into Canada: "Please give us your passport, proof of vaccination, and proof of recent negative test." After review: "How long will you be here?" After my answer and some processing, he handed everything back. It was 4 minutes total.
Into USA: "Are you the registered owner of this vehicle?" Yes... "Did you bring anything back with you?" "How long were you in Canada?" And then I was on my way. It was 3 minutes total.
I have never had a combined experience easier than that, or with fewer questions on either side, let alone both sides.

That's awesome that you got through so easily. It sounds like the pre-9/11 experience.

[ethanhopkin14]

Let me add my own recent experience to this thread.
Into Canada: "Please give us your passport, proof of vaccination, and proof of recent negative test." After review: "How long will you be here?" After my answer and some processing, he handed everything back. It was 4 minutes total.
Into USA: "Are you the registered owner of this vehicle?" Yes... "Did you bring anything back with you?" "How long were you in Canada?" And then I was on my way. It was 3 minutes total.
I have never had a combined experience easier than that, or with fewer questions on either side, let alone both sides.

That's awesome that you got through so easily. It sounds like the pre-9/11 experience.

"Hello sir, are you a US citizen?" Nods head.  "Have a good day"

[Alps]

Let me add my own recent experience to this thread.
Into Canada: "Please give us your passport, proof of vaccination, and proof of recent negative test." After review: "How long will you be here?" After my answer and some processing, he handed everything back. It was 4 minutes total.
Into USA: "Are you the registered owner of this vehicle?" Yes... "Did you bring anything back with you?" "How long were you in Canada?" And then I was on my way. It was 3 minutes total.
I have never had a combined experience easier than that, or with fewer questions on either side, let alone both sides.

That's awesome that you got through so easily. It sounds like the pre-9/11 experience.

My guess is Canada was so preoccupied with COVID, and so bereft of tourism, that they just wanted to make sure that was in order and nothing more. And since the USA isn't open to Canadians yet, they would let American citizens back in fairly easily. Just guesses. They probably expected a slight surge in tourism so close to the border reopening and so my appearance wasn't a surprise, even though the return was not a major crossing.

[jakeroot]

It is quite interesting how quiet the border has gone since reopening. This is from my experience last weekend:

Going northbound: there were only three cars at the actual Canadian checkpoint, but there were four open stalls, allowing me to proceed immediately to the checkpoint. I was through in about 90 seconds.
Going southbound: there was only one other car, and there were two open checkpoints. I was, again, able to proceed immediately to the checkpoint. I was through in about 60 seconds.

For anyone used to going through the regular non-NEXUS crossing (not my normal experience unless with friends), it was outrageously fast. Never gone through the regular line without it involving at least some wait.

In terms of the questions, I only addressed northbound (pretty standard questions). Coming southbound (back into the US), the agent was very friendly, asked about where we'd been, where home was (very normal question), and then said something I've never heard before: "welcome home".

Overall, positive experience both directions, apart from the exit-check (which, by the way, had only one car when I arrived, to give some idea of how quiet the crossing was).

[ethanhopkin14]

Let me add my own recent experience to this thread.
Into Canada: "Please give us your passport, proof of vaccination, and proof of recent negative test." After review: "How long will you be here?" After my answer and some processing, he handed everything back. It was 4 minutes total.
Into USA: "Are you the registered owner of this vehicle?" Yes... "Did you bring anything back with you?" "How long were you in Canada?" And then I was on my way. It was 3 minutes total.
I have never had a combined experience easier than that, or with fewer questions on either side, let alone both sides.

That's awesome that you got through so easily. It sounds like the pre-9/11 experience.

[7/8]

Disappointing news, the US is extending the border closure until Sept. 21:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/us-border-canada-closed-1.6147189?fbclid=IwAR2PtxbDXzWUAuKQa0w7nTgKXLl29noXRRbruRG5FD8bOhIlf1h2x1sUOW8

If you asked me a few months ago who would open their border first, I would not have guessed Canada lol

[kkt]

It doesn't surprise me that Canada was first, 7/8... The USA is not a good neighbor sometimes.  Canada needs the money from American visitors more than the USA needs the money from Canadian visitors.

[kalvado]

It doesn't surprise me that Canada was first, 7/8... The USA is not a good neighbor sometimes.  Canada needs the money from American visitors more than the USA needs the money from Canadian visitors.

Chuck Schumer was very vocal about border opening for the sake of northern NY communities. Once Canada allowed access, he's not heard any more - so I assume US needed outgoing flow more than anything else. 

[TXtoNJ]

It doesn't surprise me that Canada was first, 7/8... The USA is not a good neighbor sometimes.  Canada needs the money from American visitors more than the USA needs the money from Canadian visitors.

Also, Canada's around 80% vaccinated, the US only around 51%. Delta's not going to overwhelm the capacity north of the border.

The hot potato, as always, is Mexico. A big chunk of the electorate is convinced that people crossing the border from the south are bringing the plague, even in non-pandemic times. Opening the Canadian border and not the Mexican border causes a ton of diplomatic problems, even if the people who complain the most are convinced the Mexican border is open, anyway.

[Roadgeekteen]

It doesn't surprise me that Canada was first, 7/8... The USA is not a good neighbor sometimes.  Canada needs the money from American visitors more than the USA needs the money from Canadian visitors.

Chuck Schumer was very vocal about border opening for the sake of northern NY communities. Once Canada allowed access, he's not heard any more - so I assume US needed outgoing flow more than anything else.

Brian Higgins still cares: https://twitter.com/RepBrianHiggins/status/1428695718211039244?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet