WHY DID CANADA BORDER SERVICES STRIP SEARCH GRANDMA?

It is difficult to imagine what an internal report by the Canada
Border Services Agency can possibly add to the known facts about the
wrongful arrest, strip search and jailing of a grandmother from Minnesota.

Vic Toews, the Minister of Public Safety, is refusing to denounce the
work of Agency officers until he has read this revelatory document.
Maybe it's for the best. It would not serve the public interest to
have Mr. Toews dispense the same kind of arbitrary justice that his
officers appear to have done.

It is hard to conceive of a less likely person to be involved in drug
trafficking than Janet Goodin, 66, a retired girl scout registrar and
grandmother of 12, who lives in a trailer park in Warroad, Minn., pop.
1,781. Guards stopped her at a crossing en route to play bingo and see
her daughters in Canada. An inspection of her vehicle found a canning
jar with a suspicious substance. They performed a spot "test" that
convinced them it was heroin, in a liquid form.

Warroad is not known as a global centre for the trafficking of heroin,
and even if it were, Ms. Goodin hardly fits the description of a drug
mule. Yet on the basis of this evidently seriously flawed field test,
Ms. Goodin was arrested, handcuffed, strip-searched (twice) and
charged with possession of a drug for the purpose of trafficking, as
well as importing a controlled substance. Because she could not raise
bail, she spent 12 days in jail. At some point, you would have thought
someone in the justice system would have heard an alarm bell go off.
But the only justice for Ms. Goodin came when separate tests conducted
by the RCMP showed that the "heroin" was used motor oil.

Mr. Toews has thus far refused to comment on "operational matters"
related to the case, but when he does get his report, which should be
soon, he needs to apologize to Ms. Goodin, and immediately suspend and
review the spot testing procedures. He also needs to discipline the
CBSA officers involved. It is a difficult job they do, but fundamental
to it is some judgment.