TROUBLE AT THE BORDER

Last Friday, a provincial court judge in British Columbia ruled that
our borders are not a "Charter Free zone." More specifically, she
found that Canada's border guards cannot arbitrarily detain
individuals crossing the border, and must obtain a search warrant to
inspect vehicles and personal property when guards have reasonable
and probable grounds to suspect a crime, such as smuggling illegal
drugs, weapons or other contraband.

Federal prosecutors have rightly appealed the decision. Guards should
not have carte blanche to detain citizens or destroy their property
for no good reason. But neither should they be burdened with the need
to obtain search warrants when they have reasonable suspicion of a
crime. Public safety and the need to ensure the timely flow of
traffic across the border must take priority.

Justice Ellen Gordon's ruling involves the case of Ajitpal Singh
Sekhon, a Canadian citizen who crossed into Canada in a pickup truck
from the United States at Aldergrove, B.C., in January, 2005. The
Canadian border guard on duty, after asking Sekhon where he'd been,
determined that his behaviour was highly unusual, that Sekhon was
nervous, and that he did not maintain steady eye contact. Sekhon was
told that he would face a secondary inspection. The agent marked
Sekhon's Customs form with a reference to currency, suggesting that
Sekhon was suspected of having more than $10,000 in cash, which must
be declared.

Sekhon's vehicle was inspected by other officers, who found reason to
suspect that a hidden compartment was built into the vehicle. When he
tried to leave the Customs office, he was locked in a room, without
being advised of his rights or formally detained. A dog searching
Sekhon's truck gave officers an indication that drugs were present,
and a secret compartment was found. Holes were drilled in the
vehicle, which revealed the presence of cocaine. Sekhon's pickup was
then taken to an enclosed location where it was dismantled and 50
kilograms of cocaine was found.

Justice Gordon ruled that border guards violated sections 8 and 9 of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, forbidding arbitrary
arrest and guaranteeing the right to a lawyer. Sekhon should not have
been locked in a Customs office without being advised of his rights,
she found. In addition, Justice Gordon argued that Sekhon had been
the victim of unreasonable search or seizure, because guards did not
obtain a warrant before they started drilling holes in Sekhon's truck.

The case highlights the need to better train our border guards so
that they not only understand their own policing powers, but also the
rights of Canadians at our borders. And we agree that summarily
locking someone in a room is excessive. But guards should not have to
go through the process of obtaining a warrant when they have
reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, in this case, smuggling drugs.
Canadians do not expect the same level of privacy when crossing
borders as they do on our streets. Everyone approaching a border
crossing knows that he or she will be held accountable for the
contents of his vehicle by law-enforcement agents enjoying broad powers.

If those powers are compromised, then either our borders will become
jammed as customs agents attempt to secure an endless series of
warrants -- or our country will become a more dangerous place because
smugglers will be waved through without inspections. Neither scenario
would be welcome.