Firms gird for U.S. border crossing

March 28, 1998

By Susan Bourette

From The Globe and Mail (Canada’s National Newspaper)

To cope with the current crackdown at the U.S. border, Canadian businesses are furnishing their employees with crib sheets and even instructing them to tell "little white lies" to make it across the world’s longest undefended border.

Companies are sharpening their rhetorical skills and legal knowledge, labouring to grasp every nuance of existing customs laws — laws that appear to be enforced with a vigilance not seen for decades.

In recent months, hundreds of Canadians have been banned from entering the United States under a tough new law set up by the U.S. Congress. The new rule states that immigration inspectors must impose a five-year ban on people they judge to be misrepresenting the reasons for their visit. The law took effect nearly a year ago and was intended mainly at stemming illegal immigration from Mexico.

Many businesses, like the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), are scrambling to prepare their employees for gruelling sessions with customs officials at the border. ROM recently issued a two-page dictum for employees who crisscross the continent on a regular basis, acting as couriers of priceless artifacts. Others, like MIS Consultants, have assembled a check list of documents their computer specialists should be toting when entering the United States.

But the company’s coaching often goes well beyond that.

"We tell them, ‘If you’ve had a problem of any kind, any legal wrangle, whatever you do—don’t mention it,’ " explains Eric Winters, president of Toronto-based MIS. "If you’ve gone through a bankruptcy or a divorce, don’t mention it. And for God’s sake, if you did drugs 30 years ago, don’t mention a damn thing or you’re just asking for trouble."

Indeed, some Canadians have found themselves barred entry into the United States for fessing up to past misdeeds. A 25-year-old woman was recently banned for confessing to having tried marijuana at 19 when asked by a customs official.

That may explain why some corporations, like one Ontario high-tech company, are encouraging their employees to fudge the truth. (Ed. note: Is this the Alice B. Toklas fudge recipe?)

"We tell our employees to say they are going to a trade show even if they are travelling for a few days on business," says one human resources officer, who asked that her company remain anonymous. "Customs officers seem to like the idea that Canadians enjoy their trade shows. . . . It’s just a little white lie. And it helps us get on with our daily business."

But such a tactic could have profound reverberations. And it isn’t really fair to instruct employees to lie, says Peter Rekai, a Toronto immigration lawyer who has been swamped with calls from scores of companies since the recent rash of troubles.

"There’s a lot of nervousness out there. A lot of professionals and business people are not really sure where they stand," Mr. Rekai says. "But asking people to lie is just much too risky. . . . You can be banned for five years and you can kiss your time share in Florida goodbye." (Ed. note: Of course, if you tell them the truth about marijuana use, you could be banned for life. What a lawyer says in private to a client should not be as foolish as what he has to say in public.)

ROM is also advising its employees to answer all questions truthfully, and in full. The questions, mostly, are routine: Where are you going, how long are you staying, what’s the purpose of your visit. But answers are not always readily accepted unless backed by proper documentation.

"You are speaking to U.S. law enforcement officers and they have powers that exceed even most police forces in the United States," said David Pendergast, vice-president for ROM’s collection research. "Lying and hedging will get you in trouble. . . . If you get caught lying, the object you are carrying could be confiscated."