Minorities' cars get searched more

July 03, 2001

Vernon Clement Jones
STAR REPORTER
Toronto Star

f you sit on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls border long enough, you'll learn an awful lot about this country. And, I do mean awful.

One of the most obvious of these is the Canadian obsession with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, or SUVs.

On any given day, a glut of them clog the lines of cars waiting to cross from the U.S. back into this country.

Another awful truth to stare you in the face will be the smog those SUVs bring and how it hangs over Ontario's only claim to geographical fame — the Falls.

But, more awful than anything else you'll find at that busy border is the treatment visible minorities endure at the hands of Canada Customs and Immigration officials.

Over a 90-minute period on June 5, I observed that 46 per cent of those visible minorities crossing into Canada had their cars and/or passports searched by Canada Customs and Immigration officials.

Only two per cent of whites crossing the same border, over the same time, were subjected to that search.

But you can crunch those numbers another way: Of the 31 visible minorities driving across the border during my survey, 14 presented passports and declared American purchases but were still asked to submit to car searches and passport double- checks.

How remarkable then that only 8 of the 288 whites driving their cars across that border failed to immediately convince custom officials of their right to enter the country or that they were not, in fact, sneaking in undeclared merchandise.

An obvious question comes to mind: Why did the minorities get the majority of inspections?

It was question I posed to the regional director for Canada Customs at Fort Erie-Niagara, John Johnson.

He answered it with another question.

"Why didn't you identify yourself as a reporter to customs officers before starting your highly unscientific survey?" asked Johnson.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that a reporter secretly counting cars and squinting to identify their drivers' race is iffy, to say the least.

For one thing, 8 of the 319 cars coming across the border had tinted windows; for another, I didn't count the couple who cycled across on a tandem bike, nor the bikers who barrelled across on choppers. All of them were waved through without secondary inspections. All of them, by the way, were white.

So, yes, my survey is unscientific. But does it represent the kind of racial profiling visible minorities claim to suffer in their dealing with Canada's border officials?

It's the kind of discrimination a British woman, of African descent, claims she was subjected to at the hands of Pearson immigration officials, who detained her because, one said, "she did not look British.''

Johnson rejected any such charge of racism in this case.

"At the Rainbow Bridge, we deal with a lot of foreign passport holders, many of whom are refugee claimants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East," he said. "We have to check their credentials. It is not racial profiling.''

Johnson then suggested I conduct another survey at the same time and place, but on the following day. His officers would be given the heads-up this time.

I agreed.

The next day, only 12 per cent of visible minorities — and not the previous day's 46 per cent — were asked to submit to secondary inspections by Canada Customs and Immigration officials.

Eleven per cent of the white drivers — and not the two per cent from the day before — also faced the dreaded secondary search of car and/or passport.

My, what a difference a day makes.


Vernon Clement Jones is a reporter at The Star.