The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) continued to be busy manning and monitoring Saskatchewan’s port of entries along the border with the United States.
In September, there were 49,474 travellers in 32,728 cars who were cleared to enter Canada through one of the province’s ports. North Portal continued to be the busiest one in the province with 24,247 travellers entering the country in 7,741 vehicles. There were another 9,601 commercial trucks cleared at the crossing, as North Portal processed 59 landings, 104 work permits and four study permits over the course of the month.
At North Portal, 75 foreign nationals were refused entry, including 39 for criminality.
On Sept. 1, a Texas man was headed to Estevan, but he was refused entry for his criminal past, which involved cocaine trafficking. He returned to the U.S.
On Sept. 5, officers at West Poplar River noted some commercial farm equipment had been undervalued by over $50,000. The importer provided a false receipt for $40,000 when the true value was actually $90,000. The importer was issued a $4,000 penalty.
On Sept. 9, a man was towing a customized trailer. The man insisted to officers at Coronach that he was only going to show it to potential buyers in Canada. Officers found receipts and additional evidence during the examination that showed the trailer was sold to a Canadian and the man was delivering the trailer to its buyer. The trailer was worth $10,000. The man was issued a $2,000 penalty.
On Sept. 9, officers at Northgate and North Portal both refused entry to a South Carolina man who was coming on a hunting trip for four weeks. Background checks revealed the man had a lengthy, serious criminal record. Officers also found evidence the man was actually going to work as a guide in Saskatchewan without authorization. He returned to the U.S. and was advised to not attempt re-entry unless he obtained a work permit.
On Sept. 11, three men were on their way to work in Alberta, but officers at North Portal discovered neither had permission to work in Canada nor had the employer made any application to hire foreign workers. Further, two of the men had convictions for robbery, assault and arson. They were refused entry and returned to the U.S.
On Sept. 12, officers at North Portal refused entry to a commercial driver who had two previous convictions for driving under the influence and one hit and run conviction. He returned to the U.S.
On September 17, officers at Monchy refused entry to a man who admitted to ties to organized crime. He returned to the U.S.
At Estevan Highway port last month, 5,188 travellers and 2,923 cars were cleared to enter.
