Speaking of entering Canada...
I was on a cruise ship (Crystal Harmony) from Mexico to Vancouver last May. The ship stopped in Victoria for a day. Passengers were free to move between land and ship for the day. (I took a city tour in the morning and went shopping in the afternoon.)
The next day, the ship docked in Vancouver. Here, the passengers were required to pass through customs. Now the question --- Does Canada Customs not realize that the passengers who wish to 'import' stuff into Canada could do so at Victoria, ferry the stuff to Vancouver, where they could leave it for pickup the next day, after clearing customs, then fly home on a domestic (no customs checks) flight?
It's nice to know our borders are guarded with such efficiency. (And we poke fun of Americans!)
Cheers, PW.
P.S. During prohibition, my father ran a small export/import service at Niagara Falls. He'd walk across the bridge, buy U.S. tickets for the Maid Of The Mist, then walk over the bridge back to Canada. He'd fill his overcoat with whisky, and board the Maid Of The Mist in Canada, using his unused U.S. ticket to land in N.Y. where he'd be free to walk up the hill and deliver without customs inspection.
P.P.S. The Maid Of The Mist was, and still is, a boat used to tour the river below Niagara Falls. It boarded passengers on both sides of the border, separating Canadians from Americans by the colour of their tickets. This practice was still being followed when I was a child. I don't know if this 'hole' has been plugged, since I haven't visited the Falls since 1960. |
