Today\’s Globe and Mail has a good opinion piece from Lysiane Gagnon entitled \”Canada\’s Customs Inquisition\”. It deals with the problems travelers face when they honestly declare that they are bringing back more bottles of wine than their duty-free exemption allows. According to the article, such honesty can sometimes trigger secondary searches or other intense questioning. My personal experience has never been this bad, although I have had bizarre supplementary questions related to firearms (why would CBSA relate these two?). Generally though, the article makes a good point: why are our border agents acting as tax collectors for Canada\’s liquor boards?
In a completely unrelated vein, there is a profile of yours truly in this week\’s issue of Lawyers Weekly: Lawyer Starts Boutique Wine Firm.