Owner of Smuggler's Inn B&B ordered to put up a sign warning guests not to cross into Canada A chap who runs a B&B an actual stone's throw from the US-Canada border has been ordered to put up a sign warning guests not to cross as a bail condition. It should be noted that the hostelry in Blaine, Washington, is named the Smuggler's Inn. Which doesn't really help matters. CBC reported that its owner, Robert Joseph …
Canada would be _happy_ to pay.
I'd help pay, if it would just keep those damn Quebecois snowbirds on their side of the border. It's not true that Quebecois drive like Frenchmen, only in very large American cars; they drive like _Parisians_, only in monster SUVs. Where's the anti-tank rocket icon when I need one?
Parisians are worse than ordinary French drivers. Parisian taxi drivers are worse than ordinary Parisian drivers. The only thing worse than a Parisian taxi driver is a Mexico City taxi driver. Parisian taxi drivers will drive over you if you get in their way. Mexico City taxi drivers will drive over you, pause long enough to sacrifice you to Huitzilopochtli, and then drive on. The only time a Mexico City taxi driver is not supersonic is when they're in the middle of a sacrifice.
you might be surprised how many people on this side of the border are actually approving the idea of that wall. ( except for the payment of course). Quebec may even supply the high voltage power for the usual top barb wire.
And for the exact same reason: stop the C**** from the south coming in.
Good freaking luck with that.
There's so much high value and historical riverfront property along the Saint Lawrence Seaway that you would never even be able to build a wall in that location. And that's probably the most porous border there is with Canada too.
Also, the major shipping channel won't allow a wall in the water.
And can we please stop doing "Build a wall, durr durr harr har! Cheeto wanna palace named the OOH ESSS AAAAYY!" already? It's growing thin as a joke.
"And can we please stop doing "Build a wall, durr durr harr har! Cheeto wanna palace named the OOH ESSS AAAAYY!" already? It's growing thin as a joke."
No. That will never grow old. It will be forever a child old no matter how old it might physically get.
"And can we please stop doing "Build a wall, durr durr harr har! Cheeto wanna palace named the OOH ESSS AAAAYY!" already? It's growing thin as a joke."
I'll make you a deal. When the tangerine fuckwit steps down, I'll stop making jokes about his (attempted) wallbuilding.
One of the major political controversies in Canada in recent years has been the large numbers of people crossing the border from the US into Canada and claiming refugee status. Bogus refugee claims have much less chance of success in Canada than in most countries, so most eventually have their claims rejected and get kicked back out. However, the recent large numbers have resulted in a backlog in the processing system, so that may take a few years.
Under treaty between Canada and the US, anyone who tries to enter Canada from the US at a normal border crossing and claim refugee status will have their claim automatically rejected. If they cross anywhere else however, then their claim must go through the normal process, with all the appeals, etc. as defined under official international refugee conventions. Canada cannot amend the treaty with the US unilaterally to try to address this loophole.
The US claim they are powerless to stop the large organised groups (let's call them "caravans") of people who pay to be taken to roads adjacent to the border and dropped off in a very few well known specific spots to make a short tramp through the woods and make their crossing where Canadian immigration officials collect them. The Canadian border officials tell right at the border to stop and turn back, that they are crossing illegally, but of course they don't listen. The Americans are apparently not given to introspection about how their utterly supine response to this problem contrasts with their vigorous complaints about Mexico not doing enough about stopping people entering the US.
The main centre for this illegal border crossing is in the southeastermost part of Quebec, with a lesser amount happening in southern Manitoba. Both are land borders (unlike with Ontario) and close to major cities in the US where these "refugees" originate.
Some political elements in Canada have been demanding that we build a wall (or at least a fence) to try to stop them. Nobody so far has suggested that we make the Americans pay for it, but it would seem only fair if they did.
"The main centre for this illegal border crossing is in the southeastermost part of Quebec, with a lesser amount happening in southern Manitoba."
Post all the signs in French only. The border guards are ordered to only ever speak French and refuse to acknowledge anything said to them in English. That should confuse these "refugees" enough that they might just turn around and go home, away fro the strange and frightening foreigners who are not, as they were lead to believe, just like Americans but polite.
Post all the signs in French only. The border guards are ordered to only ever speak French and refuse to acknowledge anything said to them in English.
That's been standard operational procedure in Quebec for decades already. It's like having all the hostility of Parisians without the attendant cultural charm.
Actually, based on current trends, Canadians might be willing (if not happy) to pay.
For the past decade or so, America has been of the "sure, come on in, we don't care if you're legal or not" mindset, which Trump is currently clamping down on. And as a result, a number of people in the US who aren't there legally (as per US laws) are now fleeing into Canada.
And while Canada has largely condemned Trump's handling of the "illegal aliens" issue, when confronted with it themselves, it's apparently very different. Hence the term "irregular border crossers" being used, to distinguish between the gentle souls entering the USA illegally (whom we are supposed to by sympathetic to), and the evil, drug-running scumbags entering Canada illegally (whom we are supposed to loathe).
Unfortunately for the narrative, many, if not most of the irregular crossers are also illegal aliens. This harshes the vibe a bit, as you can imagine.
As I read it, yes, there IS such a thing as 0 (Zero) Avenue located just north of the international border. It starts just east of the Pacific Highway Border Crossing (WA 543/BC 15) and actually runs quite a ways--all the way to the next official crossing to the east: the Lynden–Aldergrove crossing at WA 539/BC 13.
Roads hugging the US border are not unheard of, especially at places where municipalities meet at the border. You'll find plenty such roads in upstate New York, for example.
PS. As for the judgment, I'm surprised he wasn't ordered to at least erect a fence (at least waist-high) at his northern boundary, to at least indicate that boundary is not meant to be crossed casually.
As for erecting a fence, the treaty between the US and Canada fixing the border location specifically bans fences or walls within some distance of the border - I want to say 100 meters/yards, or 1/4 mile or something similar.
This didn't stop the Bush administration from supporting a property owner who wanted to build a fence on the northern edge of their property, which corresponded with the border, under the argument that under US law a landowner has the right to build a fence on their own land. The administration even went so far as to "fire" the US representative for the border treaty, a position that is set out in the treaty that specifically is not appointed by the president and does not serve at the pleasure of the president, but they appointed their own replacement representative anyway.
A fine example of how governments (mine in this case) only obey laws when it servers their interest, and ignore them when it doesn't.
Since I actually LIVE in the BC lower mainland area, I can tell you that ZERO Avenue runs right along the border starting just east of the Peace Arch crossing in White Rock, British Columbia, CANADA!
ZERO Avenue goes towards the coast mountain range for about another 40+ KM along dirt flat farmland until it turns in Boundary Road at Sumas which is also mostly straight and right beside the border until that border road finally runs into rather rugged mountain territory and turns north again.
The USA/CAN border from then runs onwards to the east literally cutting a swath through the trees and rocks until it hits the Nova Scotia coast after 5000+ KM or so!
They have ON BOTH SIDES of the border, various infrared/thermal cameras, audio telescope microphones, buried weight sensors and other imaging and sensory equipment ALL ALONG that area to foil illegal border crossers. On a physical basis, there really is just a low fence running along that part of the border so you could just hop on over to either country if you're so inclined.
Most British Columbians just go over the border to Washington State to get cheap gas (petrol) since our gas is $1.72 CAN a litre whereas Washington state is $1.05 CAN a litre or even less in some places!
Vancouver area actually has some of the HIGHEST gas/petrol prices in North America at an equivalent of $6.51 CAN or $4.83 U.S. per US Gallon.
It's of course NOWHERE NEAR what some of my German cousins are paying where they have to pay $2.62 CAN per litre or $9.91 CAN (or $7.35 U.S.) per gallon!
When compared to many parts of the world gas/petrol is CHEAP in North America.
What is REALLY EXPENSIVE is simple BLACK Inkjet Ink which is about $3200 US per gallon of the typical Canon, Epson or HP inkjet inks! NOW THAT is an expensive liquid!
.
Not only gasoline, the Canadians I know pick up liquor, consumer electronics and groceries on the American side of the border, and then sneak it back into Canada. I have one friend-of-a-friend who fills a Formula 1-style gasoline bladder in his trunk on most trips to the U.S.
Then there is Pirate Joe's, which resold items in British Columbia, bought from Trader Joe's in the U.S.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Joe%27s
"Most British Columbians just go over the border to Washington State to get cheap gas (petrol) since our gas is $1.72 CAN a litre whereas Washington state is $1.05 CAN a litre or even less in some places!"
Unfortunately, some of them bring their attitudes with them. Remember standing in line to buy cigs at a convenience store in Blaine listening to a gal (old enough to know better) literally SCREAMING at the cashier for trying to rip her off.
The alleged crime was trying to charge her like $26.00 for $20.00 worth of gasoline. She just couldn't/wouldn't understand that the CANADIAN $20.00 bill she handed the clerk was worth about $15.00 US. Worst thing about it is that I could save money by driving 30 miles south to get gas...Blaine gas prices are about the highest in WA state...wonder why.
It's not just gas. I've seen cars with back seats filled with groceries, especially milk and eggs.
Interesting trying to get a doctor's appointment within 50 miles of the border, as there seems to be an issue with the Canadian "free health care for all" which makes paying cash to a US doctor a better alternative. It could be that calling in and getting a doctor's appointment for the next day is the norm, rather than the exception.
Weirdest thing is that there is apparently something about crossing the border which affects Canadian drivers in a negative manner. I know for a fact that streets north of the border in Canada come equipped with stop lights, stop signs, speed limit signs, etc. Never could figure out why cars with Canadian plates always seemed to have difficulty figuring these signs out when in the US.
He had been promoting his inn for years as being a hotbed of smuggling. The supposed idea was to try give the place an aura of danger and excitement to give gullible people a reason to actually want to stay there. So far as I am aware there's not really anything to recommend the place otherwise, as the border area is not known as a destination for tourism.
There are allegations though that this went beyond marketing puff to actually encouraging people to use the place as a smuggling base or waypoint for illegally entering Canada.
I would be pretty damn difficult for him to stop them. This is his house from the Canadian side. All they have to do is stroll across a few yards of lawn.
I love how our border is marked by a line of stones. :)
Who needs stones when you have paint? Consider the Haskell Library & Opera House:
Notice the scuffed black line on the floor in the bottom-left corner? That's the US/Canada border.
http://haskellopera.com/wp-content/gallery/opera-house-1/haskel6.jpg
Or if you look in the library on the main floor, paint serves the job here as well...
https://shawglobalnews.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/gettyimages-450878658.jpg?quality=70&strip=all&w=672&h=448&crop=1
It goes along with other highly successful signs like:
- No drugs allowed (at schools)
- No guns allowed (at various buildings)
- No speeding
- No smoking
- Unauthorized use of this web site is not allowed (found this on an external admin page with no auth)
Amazing how effective those are. Why hasn't anyone thought of putting signs everywhere for all offenses?
- No bank robberies allowed (at all banks)
- Do not invade (our country)
No doubt crime will immediately be eliminated and wars will be a thing of the past.
The phrase: "Use of this product in a manner inconsistent with its labelling is a violation of Federal law." is meant to protect the supplier from lawsuits. If a person tries to sue you for using the product wrong, they admit to a violation of federal law, and as "ignorance of the law is no excuse", they might be prosecuted for it, and become negligent in the process, voiding the lawsuit.
Actually pretty clever.
Not to significant other: Do not use bug killer as hair spray!
"Actually pretty clever."
But surely writing "holding can with left hand is a violation of Federal law" on the side of a can of Coke doesn't actually make it a violation of federal law, even if the bastard holds it with his goddamn left hand. So he can admit away and there's no problem.
"Use of this product in a manner inconsistent with its labelling is a violation of Federal law."
Seen on everything sold in the US from fertilizer to antifreeze, including pretty much every household chemical.
The best is some military-surplus eye ointment (I think it was for gas/chemical burns). Clearly marked on on the front as being for eye treatment. Meanwhile, in small print on the back, it says "keep away from eyes".
"err...."
Er, you ever thought one of the most common hiding places for smokers is the toilet?
Some of these "environmentally-friendly" toilets are pretty damn sensitive about what you flush down them because of the contamination issues. Not even supposed to flush those "flushable" wipes down them because, although they can flush, they don't degrade so well.
How do you enforce a border that consists of a road on the Canadian side and some boulders along the border in the back yard of the Smuggler's Inn? And how do you make someone liable for the actions of others?
It must be this sign - encouraging the Canadians to cross the border and visit:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@49.0021602,-122.7186145,3a,25.6y,216.94h,84.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWksQx1x3RiwjIpnX2jWixQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Since 911 there is a massive amount of survellance gear - at least near cities.
There have been a string of stories of people arrested for fetching a ball or getting a takeaway pizza - the border runs through some towns and farms.
It also got ridiculous with some US properties only accessible by road from the Canadian side - and the US banning border crossings except at official spots. US school busses were being sent across the border with sealed doors and INS agents on board to make sure that Canadian terrorists didn't sneak onboard
Ironically there is very little border marking or protection in remote areas - there is not much point in detecting someone crossing if it takes the agents 6hours to drive there to catch them
This is only tangentially related, but amusing nonetheless.
I had elderly relatives who owned property that straddled the border between two US states -- the state line literally ran through their living room. One of them was dying, but living at home under hospice care. He wanted to be buried in a specific place in one of the states. We investigated the logistics of getting that done and learned that it would be far easier if he died in the state he wanted to be buried in. So after he died, we wheeled his bed across the room before reporting it to make sure that was the case.
"some US properties only accessible by road from the Canadian side"
Scroll a bit west of that inn and you'll find Point Roberts - part of the US that can only be accessed by sea or by going through Canada. There's another bit like that at Lake of the Woods.
Yes, Point Roberts is a fishing port that remains part of the U.S. because when the U.S. and Canuckistan set the border at the current parallel, the point happened to jut out south of the agreed-upon line. The community is apparently not large enough to have all its own schools, so the poor kids living there have to spend 90 minutes or so each way, being bused around the northern part of Puget Sound to schools on the mainland side of the sound in Washington.
They should have just let the Canadians have the point. Though I am sure that considering the border was set in the age of sail, there was a risk that the nefarious Canucks would launch starved beavers at passing U.S. ships.
There have been a string of stories of people arrested for fetching a ball or getting a takeaway pizza - the border runs through some towns and farms.
Don't even have to cross the border to get pulled over. In high school (late 70's) had gone to a party in a border town, and the rode the house party was on was also on a road that crossed over from Canada, so you had to drive past the US Customs station (about 3-4 blocks into town. Not recognizing our car as belonging to a local, the Customs police pulled us over. Of course, all it took was to say who's house we were at, and they knew we hadn't done a border crossing.
Doubt that could be done now (they've probably relocated the Customs office by now anyway).
While it IS accessible by road, Alburg VT is only reachable by bridge (or boat) from within the USA, but readily accessible by land from Canada.
"How do you enforce a border that consists of a road on the Canadian side and some boulders along the border in the back yard of the Smuggler's Inn? And how do you make someone liable for the actions of others?"
I was just wondering what happens if you are in Canada and have an RTA and crash through the line of stones and end up in the USA where you may not have a valid medical insurance and might need a lawyer to fight the illegal entry charges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House
https://globalnews.ca/news/3997798/library-gun-smuggling-canada-u-s-border/
"The Haskell Free Library, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border, is home to an array of novels, an opera house and — for a brief time — international gun smugglers.
The heritage building was built in 1904 and is the only library in the world to straddle a border, between the towns of Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Que. There is a black line on the library floor marking the divide.
You enter the building through the U.S., but the circulation desk and most of the books are in Canada. The reading room is in both countries. The building’s unique layout may be why it was an attractive location for a Montreal man to smuggle handguns into Canada."
Having retired over a decade ago, I'm pretty sure all of the libraries included in my software projects were Haskell Free. Unless Eddie Haskell took up Computer Science after High School, for its ample opportunities for strategic truthiness, or to Curry favor with Ward and June Cleaver.
... there is Point Roberts Wa., U.S.A. .....
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Point+Roberts,+WA+98281/@48.989648,-123.303693,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5485e5ffff02c5fd:0x2b6ed49177b716a!8m2!3d48.9883827!4d-123.0568693
Which by road is ONLY accessible via Canada. There is a small grass airfield, literally grass, and a marina, but no ferry service.
I wonder how many "signs" and "border barriers" there are there?
But then there was this .....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_War_(1859)
Canada is part of America (some would argue the most sane part of it):
Canada is NOT a part of the USA (which of course explains why it is often seen as the sanest part of America).
As of 2019 the correct wording is "Look, boy! Now I'm in Trumpistan! Now I'm in Canada! Trumpistan! Canada! Trumpistan! Canada!".
On a more sobre note: Please don't help spreading the "fake olds" that "America" and "USA" are synonymous.
On a more sobre note: Please don't help spreading the "fake olds" that "America" and "USA" are synonymous.
Hosted some Canadian friends a few years back. Their kid laughed (rebeliious teen years) but the parents nearly decked me when I pointed out that, as they lived in America, they must therefore be Americans...
(I also try to fight the stuff that says a tiny little bit of the American continents is "America" and everything else is not part of America)
"Presumably the owner is accused of a crime in Canada and is currently physically in custody in Canada. If they wish to be granted bail, and to be allowed to leave the country to cross back to the USA, one would expect the bail conditions to be onerous."
They probably nabbed him when he entered Canada to mow that little strip of grass between the rocks and the road...
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