MESSAGE
| DATE | 2017-03-08 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout-NYLXS] Our Friends from Canada love us all
|
Wed Mar 8 10:31:02 EST 2017
To:
Consulate General of Canada in New York
1251 Avenue of the Americas
Concourse Level
New York, NY 10020-1175
Greetings:
I recently had the pleasure of making the trip to DrumHeller and Calgary
Alberta. The Royal Tyrrell museum is truly one of the great treasures
of human and world culture and deserves designation from UNESCO. The
people I met in Calgary and DrumHeller was friendly and warm. And yet
when I talked to people from the Royal Tyrrell museum, it bothered me
that they have only about 400,00 visitors a year and estimated that only
about 10% of the museum’s visitors are foreigners.
The trip from New York to Calgary was neither particularly expensive or
long. I got tickets for less than $350 on Air Canada. There are amble
hotel accommodations and Calgary is truly one of the most beautiful
cities I’d ever seen, sleek, modern, lively, and modern. What a gem of
a town, that I am so happy to discover and expect to revisit …. except….
Your border or customs officials at YYC airport threatened me and I
will NEVER enter Canada again.
Specifically, when I landed from NYC on flight AC585 form EWR
(Newark) to YYC Calgary arriving at 19:13 on Thursday March 2nd, 2017.
The flight was pleasant enough and I had a carry on bag that held my 2
laptops and a table, and a few pens and a notebook. I had my camera,
which you can see my pictures from at
http://images.mrbrklyn.com/2017_03_royal_tyrell_drumheller/ . And I
checked in a bag which had my big winter boots and layers of cloths for
preparation for extremely cold weather that can be seen in the badlands,
and two bottles of wine for the Jewish Sabbath.
I went to the passport control area, and talked to the official in the
screening on the line. I filled out the paper for entry into the
country and selected that I was there for 6 days on personal business,
and nothing to declare. The official, who was hard for me to understand
actually, asked why I came to Canada. I told him I came to see a friend
and go to DrumHeller to talk with some of the researchers at the Royal
Tyrrell about some of my thesis work I’m doing in paleontology and see
the museum. The guard says to me that I checked that I’m coming for
personal reason, but I’m actually coming as a student. I said to him,
OK, but I don’t think it is categorized as a student. I’m not coming to
attend school, just visiting friend and to see the museum. He said
something else I didn’t understand and nodded my head, and proceeded to
the booths to present my passport.
At the window, had my passport stamped without incident, and walked to
the baggage carousel area. I picked up my bags, and exited the baggage
carousel area (which had truly nice sculpture in it). And when I walked
out I flashed my passport at the fellow covering the door, and noticed
he didn’t look closely. I, being stupid, stepped back about 2 steps,
despite the fact that I already was out the door, and represent my
passport, out of respect, and showed the documents again. He fumbled
over the paper work and said, “Oh ok – you have to go right through the
doors.” So I carried my bags through 2 large double doors on the right
and entered an area with 2 passengers waiting and nearly 70 uniformed
officers standing about and no directions as to what to do. I saw an
officer standing at a podium and she said to take a sit and wait. I had
no idea what to wait for and had been sitting for 5 and a half hours
and had no desire to sit. I pulled out my tablet, hooked up my tablet
to the wifi (I carry no cellphone). And sent a message to the parties
waiting for me that I was being held up at customs. They sent me a
message to be patient and wait and they would wait for me at the
restaurant out the doors.
So I then looks around and saw a very tall officer with blond hair
lollygagging and ambulating about the large floor, and answering a
question from another passenger, so walked up to him and asked if he had
any idea how long this would take, amusing everything was Ok. His
response was threatening and unprofessional. I asked:
“Excuse me, assuming everything is fine do you know about how long this
can take.”
“No, just sit down and wait”
“Will it take a half hour, 2 hours, 5 hours? Some kind of scale? I
don’t need an exact time”
“Sir, you came here and presented yourself to us voluntarily and we have
the right to question you. And if we don’t like you we can put you on
the next plane back”
“I’m only asking how long this can take, and not questioning your rights
and duties. When is the next plane back to New York City”
“What?”
“I have people outside waiting for me, and it is reasonable to tell them
about how long they need to wait, or if they should go home and come
back. I just want to tell them how long this can take. I don’t see
why you are making a threat”
“Sir, you are now on Canadian Soil and if we don’t like you we will send
you back at our discretion”
“Fine and that is a two way street. I flew nearly 3000 miles to come
here and spend a substantial amount of time and money here, which is for
your benefit. And if I don’t like you, I can take the next plane back
to NYC “
“No, you don’t understand. If we don’t like you, you are now on
Canadian Soil and we will retrain you hear as long as we want. You can
not fly back to New York. You will be hear as long as we want”
“Fine”
and I then sat down. About 5 minutes later someone called me up to a
booth. He inspected my papers. He asked what I cam for. I told him I
am going to meet friends and see the Royal Tyrrell Museum. With a
little bit of disbelief as to the question I answered, “To see the
fossils and meet some of the researches there”. He then asked, how did
I learn about the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I answered that I’ve been
planning to see the museum for about 3 years after listening to all the
wonderful lectures that they have on the internet. That seemed to
satisfy him. I asked him, “You never heard of the Royal Tyrrell Museum?
It is a world renown facility.” He answered that he wasn’t from
Calgary, so I smiled and said to him, “Well you’re here now do I suggest
you go see it while you have the opportunity because it is really a
special place.”
He then gave me an empty envelop, stamped my passport, we exchanged some
niceties, he welcomed me to Canada, and asked me to take the empty
envelope to the guard at the door.
My problem is not presenting myself, or the miscommunication, or the
lack of signage, or the waste of my time, or even the obvious over
staffing (which is none of my business), but the threat and proposition
by your officer that as a US Citizen on Canadian “soil” that I was a
prisoner without rights or protections and susceptible to the whims of
individual officers and the institution of whatever they are, without
recourse just because I made the error to try to visit Canada. That is
WRONG. I do not give up my rights and privileges as a US citizen by the
mere act of visiting your nation and touching your precious soil. And I
do not expect to need to call up the US Embassy or a lawyer to enforce
those rights. I expect to be treated professionally by all your
officers in all matters of civil law, and even criminal law. I expect
my rights, and my rights under international law to be respected
completely. I even have the unreasonable expectation to be welcomes by
your nation, and maybe even treated not as a threat, but as an asset.
THEN maybe the Royal Tyrrell Museum might see more than 10% of its
visitors being foreign visitors, and it can be even a greater force of
driving the local economy.
I’m requesting an apology from your country for this incident, and a
letter assuring me that I am, in fact, welcome to your country. This
way, if I decide to return to Canada EVER, I can have it on my person to
present with my passport. The letter should specifically instruct the
officials that I am dealing with to treat me respectfully and within the
scope of international law, and with an eye of protecting my rights.
Ruben Safir
1580 East 19th Street
Apartment 1E
Brooklyn, NY 11239
ruben-at-mrbrklyn.com
CC: Royal Tyrrell Museum, Mayor of Calgary, US Secretary of State, the
Drumheller mail, Callgary Sun, Calgary Herald, Canadian Border Services
Agency, and posted on the internet
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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