Concerns are mounting over added powers Ottawa has granted U.S. customs officers to strip-search, question and detain U.S.-bound travellers — on Canadian soil. The changes are part of Canada’s new preclearance act, which the federal government says will enhance border security and make travel to the U.S. easier. But Pantea Jafari, an Iranian-Canadian immigration lawyer, fears it could make travel more difficult for her. Read full story here: ‘I’m Appalled’: Lawyers Alarmed As Ottawa Gives More Powers To U.S. Border Officers At Canadian Airports | CBC News
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Border Officials To Start Sharing Data About U.S., Canadian Travellers | CBC News
Border agents will be able to share information about U.S. and Canadian citizens more freely as the third phase of a 2011 border agreement meant to make it easier for trade and travel across the Canada-U.S. border comes into effect. It was announced on Thursday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency will exchange biographic data, travel documents, and other information related to border crossings of U.S. and Canadian citizens. Read full story here: Border Officials To Start Sharing Data About U.S., Canadian Travellers | CBC News
Read MoreU.S. On Guard Against Rise In Illegal Border Crossings As Canada Rejects Asylum Claims | CBC News
American border agents are increasingly concerned about the northern boundary with Canada, saying the number of people entering the U.S. through back roads, forests and even across rivers is surging. “We’ve seen an increase coming into the United States from Canada,” U.S. Border Patrol Houlton Division chief Dennis Harmon says. He is responsible for the north-eastern frontier, through the Maine-New Brunswick line and the shared waters along the Atlantic. Read full story here: U.S. On Guard Against Rise In Illegal Border Crossings As Canada Rejects Asylum Claims | CBC News
Read MoreCanadians Who Smoke Marijuana Legally, Or Work Or Invest In The Industry, Will Be Barred From The U.S.: Customs and Border Protection Official | The Star
WASHINGTON—Canadians will be barred from entering the United States for smoking marijuana legally, for working in Canada’s legal marijuana industry and for investing in legal Canadian marijuana companies, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official says. Todd Owen, who spoke to the U.S. website Politico, said the U.S. does not plan to change its border policies to account for Canada’s marijuana legalization, which takes effect on Oct. 17. “We don’t recognize that as a legal business,” said Owen, executive assistant commissioner for the office of field operations. Owen’s comments…
Read MoreU.S. Border Patrol Questions Crews Of At Least 2 Canadian Fishing Vessels In Disputed Waters | CBC News
The federal government is investigating reports that two Canadian fishing vessels were approached, and crew members questioned, by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Canadian waters in the Gulf of Maine in late June. According to Global Affairs Canada, the incidents occurred June 24 and 25 around Machias Seal Island and North Rock. While details are scant, the fishermen are members of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association. Laurence Cook, the association’s chair, wrote on Facebook that the U.S. officials claimed they were “looking for illegal immigrants.” On Wednesday, Cook said further that border officials…
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