Retired Mountie fights border agency to get off smuggler watch list
A retired RCMP officer from Saskatchewan who successfully removed his name from a smuggler watch list maintained by Canadian border officials is warning others about excessive enforcement action by the Canada Border Services Agency after his encounter with agents four years ago.
In 2011, Bill Marshall was added to a watch list called the Integrated Customs Enforcement System (ICES), after he neglected to declare the details of a paint job he had done on a new boat he brought home.
It took a concerted effort by Marshall to set the record straight.
For two years he inundated the border agency with information requests and complaints until it finally acknowledged its actions had been excessive and agreed to remove his name from the ICES list.
Sailboat purchase declared at border
In the summer of 2011 Marshall and his wife bought a sailboat for $10,000 and a trailer for $6,400 in the United States.
When the couple arrived at the North Portal border crossing in southeastern Saskatchewan on their way home, they presented the bill of sale and copies of wire transfers relating to the boat and trailer, as well as receipts for two bottles of alcohol and two cartons of cigarettes.
Marshall said a border agent also asked him, "Have you done any repairs or alterations to your vehicle?"
Marshall interpreted the question as referring to his pick-up truck and responded, "No."
The couple then waited about two and a half hours at the border station, periodically answering questions about how much they had paid for the boat.
Eventually, Marshall said, a border agent asked, "Did you get the boat painted?"
It was then that Marshall remembered a slight modification to the sailboat.
"I realized, 'Oh my God. The bottom,'" Marshall said. "I said, 'I completely forgot. We got them to do a bit of bottom paint.'"
With that, the customs officer initiated a seizure order on the boat.
Marshall was shocked and taken aback.
"It is asinine to presume that I would declare a $17,000 purchase and wilfully omit declaring a $400 paint job," Marshall said.
The Canada Border Services Agency told CBC News, in an email, that "the onus to report rests upon the individual bringing the goods into the country and is not dependent on any questioning or prompting by a CBSA official."
Marshall paid a fine to retrieve his boat, but that did not end the tale.
Smuggler list
Marshall, a former drug investigator for the RCMP, didn't realize until a few months after the border experience that the customs officer had added his name to the ICES database. One of the consequences of being on the list is the automatic requirement of a secondary examination whenever a person on the list re-enters the country.
Marshall experienced the consequences of being on the list when he returned to Canada after a trip to Mexico and a customs officer at the Calgary airport pulled him aside for further questioning.
"He said, 'You're on a seven-year watch list as a smuggler,'" Marshall recalled. "I could not believe my ears. I was beyond shocked."
The retired officer's outrage fuelled his determined campaign to get answers and clear his name. His case was finally resolved in October 2013.
That's when Lauren Delgaty, a regional director for the Canada Border Services Agency sent Marshall a letter stating "t is the policy of the CBSA to extend the benefit of the doubt when it appears evident that the traveller clearly had no intent to contravene CBSA requirements."
Delgaty added, "Therefore, in my view, this seizure action was excessive."
The CBSA official assured Marshall that, acting on her request, the CBSA National Headquarters had removed his name from its internal enforcement database.
According to a recent audit of CBSA, people who are flagged in ICES are individuals who are considered "high cross-border risks in areas such as transnational organized crime [and] ... the illicit movement of drugs, firearms and other contraband."
However, CBSA told CBC News that anyone who has committed an infraction of the Customs Act can be added to the watch list.
Complaint continues
Despite being vindicated nearly two years ago, Marshall is still pursuing his case with the border agency. He says he is dissatisfied with its investigation into his complaint about the border agent's attitude and actions.
The official word from the CBSA is that there is no evidence to support Marshall's allegation of abuse of power and the agency will not be looking into it any further.
"All allegations of improper or illegal behaviour by CBSA employees are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated and acted upon accordingly," the CBSA stated in an email.
Marshall said he remains concerned about how easily his name was added to the watch list and how difficult it was to set the record straight.
According to a federal audit of the CBSA, border officers added more than 6,000 names to the ICES database in the first nine months of 2012.
source: Retired Mountie fights border agency to get off smuggler watch list - Saskatchewan - CBC News
A retired RCMP officer from Saskatchewan who successfully removed his name from a smuggler watch list maintained by Canadian border officials is warning others about excessive enforcement action by the Canada Border Services Agency after his encounter with agents four years ago.
In 2011, Bill Marshall was added to a watch list called the Integrated Customs Enforcement System (ICES), after he neglected to declare the details of a paint job he had done on a new boat he brought home.
It took a concerted effort by Marshall to set the record straight.
For two years he inundated the border agency with information requests and complaints until it finally acknowledged its actions had been excessive and agreed to remove his name from the ICES list.
Sailboat purchase declared at border
In the summer of 2011 Marshall and his wife bought a sailboat for $10,000 and a trailer for $6,400 in the United States.
When the couple arrived at the North Portal border crossing in southeastern Saskatchewan on their way home, they presented the bill of sale and copies of wire transfers relating to the boat and trailer, as well as receipts for two bottles of alcohol and two cartons of cigarettes.
Marshall said a border agent also asked him, "Have you done any repairs or alterations to your vehicle?"
Marshall interpreted the question as referring to his pick-up truck and responded, "No."
The couple then waited about two and a half hours at the border station, periodically answering questions about how much they had paid for the boat.
Eventually, Marshall said, a border agent asked, "Did you get the boat painted?"
It was then that Marshall remembered a slight modification to the sailboat.
"I realized, 'Oh my God. The bottom,'" Marshall said. "I said, 'I completely forgot. We got them to do a bit of bottom paint.'"
With that, the customs officer initiated a seizure order on the boat.
Marshall was shocked and taken aback.
"It is asinine to presume that I would declare a $17,000 purchase and wilfully omit declaring a $400 paint job," Marshall said.
The Canada Border Services Agency told CBC News, in an email, that "the onus to report rests upon the individual bringing the goods into the country and is not dependent on any questioning or prompting by a CBSA official."
Marshall paid a fine to retrieve his boat, but that did not end the tale.
Smuggler list
Marshall, a former drug investigator for the RCMP, didn't realize until a few months after the border experience that the customs officer had added his name to the ICES database. One of the consequences of being on the list is the automatic requirement of a secondary examination whenever a person on the list re-enters the country.
Marshall experienced the consequences of being on the list when he returned to Canada after a trip to Mexico and a customs officer at the Calgary airport pulled him aside for further questioning.
"He said, 'You're on a seven-year watch list as a smuggler,'" Marshall recalled. "I could not believe my ears. I was beyond shocked."
The retired officer's outrage fuelled his determined campaign to get answers and clear his name. His case was finally resolved in October 2013.
That's when Lauren Delgaty, a regional director for the Canada Border Services Agency sent Marshall a letter stating "t is the policy of the CBSA to extend the benefit of the doubt when it appears evident that the traveller clearly had no intent to contravene CBSA requirements."
Delgaty added, "Therefore, in my view, this seizure action was excessive."
The CBSA official assured Marshall that, acting on her request, the CBSA National Headquarters had removed his name from its internal enforcement database.
According to a recent audit of CBSA, people who are flagged in ICES are individuals who are considered "high cross-border risks in areas such as transnational organized crime [and] ... the illicit movement of drugs, firearms and other contraband."
However, CBSA told CBC News that anyone who has committed an infraction of the Customs Act can be added to the watch list.
Complaint continues
Despite being vindicated nearly two years ago, Marshall is still pursuing his case with the border agency. He says he is dissatisfied with its investigation into his complaint about the border agent's attitude and actions.
The official word from the CBSA is that there is no evidence to support Marshall's allegation of abuse of power and the agency will not be looking into it any further.
"All allegations of improper or illegal behaviour by CBSA employees are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated and acted upon accordingly," the CBSA stated in an email.
Marshall said he remains concerned about how easily his name was added to the watch list and how difficult it was to set the record straight.
According to a federal audit of the CBSA, border officers added more than 6,000 names to the ICES database in the first nine months of 2012.
source: Retired Mountie fights border agency to get off smuggler watch list - Saskatchewan - CBC News
