June was a busy month for Canada Border Services Agency officers across Saskatchewan, especially at North Portal, the busiest port in the province.
Several travellers ended up on the wrong side of regulations after encountering the questions posed to them by CBSA officers.
For instance, on June 8, a 55-year-old driver from North Dakota appeared at the North Portal entry point and was refused admission due to a criminal record that included burglary, theft, assault, cruelty to animals and a couple of impaired driving convictions.
On June 17, a Saskatchewan man returning home declared a 2009 model snowmobile as having a sale value of US$4,800. He presented a written bill-of-sale to that effect, but when the CBSA officer stated that he was going to investigate the declared value and presented the man with further questions, the traveller eventually admitted he had paid $10,200 for the machine, which was then seized. The traveller paid a fine of over $3,200 for its release. A true declaration would have led to a total bill of just over $800 for duties and taxes.
On June 20, a foreign national sought entry into Canada to extend his expired Canadian work permit. When officers conducted an examination of his goods, they found he had been working in Canada without authorization so he was denied a permit and ordered to leave the country. An exclusion order now prevents him from returning to Canada for at least one year.
A Saskatchewan woman arrived at the North Portal port on June 23, declaring a trailer she purchased in the United States at $500. CBSA officers eventually discerned she had actually paid $2,000 for the trailer, which was then seized and she was penalized $915 before the trailer was released to her. A true declaration would have led to a fee of about $100.
On June 25, a 60-year-old traveller from Alabama was refused entry at the North Portal port-of-entry when he admitted to a lengthy criminal history that included convictions for cocaine possession, robbery, assault, obstruction and several more minor offences.
On June 26, a 67-year-old Californian woman was denied entry when she was unable to show any ties to the United States that would satisfy officers she would return to the U.S. after an authorized stay. The traveller, officers noted, did not have a job, a residence or a family in the U.S. and she was travelling with all of her possessions.
On June 29, a 44-year-old traveller from Georgia attempted to enter Canada, stating he was on a visit. A check of his criminal history revealed the man had been convicted of assault on three separate occasions with one of them causing serious bodily injury to the victim. It was also noted he had been convicted of impaired driving on three occasions, so he was refused entry into Canada.
At the Oungre border station in June, 11 foreign nationals were denied entry for various reasons, including eight for criminality.
On June 20 at Oungre, a 24-year-old man from Iowa sought entry to visit for a day but the background checks revealed he had been convicted of assault on four occasions as well as an impaired driving conviction and another one for manufacturing narcotics and theft. He was denied entry.
At the Northgate port-of-entry, six foreign nationals were refused access to Canada in the month of June, four of them for criminality.
On June 4 at Northgate, a 57-year-old man from Nebraska sought entry into Canada en route to Alaska. When his passport was scanned, officers discovered he had been refused entry earlier at a port in Manitoba due to past criminal activities that included theft and impaired driving. He was refused entry at the Northgate port as well.
On June 9, a Saskatchewan man driving a car he had purchased in Nevada, declared the purchase price as being US$5,900, but during an interview, he admitted to changing the value marked on the bill of sale to read $5,900 instead of the real price of $8,900. This little folly with numbers ended up costing him a penalty of $1,804 before he could continue home. A properly declared value would have saved him about $1,400.
A 50-year-old Iowa man attempted to enter Canada at two different ports-of-entry in Saskatchewan on June 19. He didn't believe that the border stations had a very decent communication system, so he was denied entry at both Northgate and North Portal. The reason for the denials focused on his three separate convictions for impaired driving.
At the Estevan Highway Port in June, a 33-year-old driver from Arkansas was refused entry after officers found him to be criminally inadmissible because he had three impaired driving convictions as well as three convictions for resisting arrest.
