Cell Phone Searches at the Border
The Customs Act confers broad powers of inquiry and inspection. Officers employed in the administration or enforcement of the Act (such as Canada Border Services Agency officers) need not have grounds to examine a incoming traveller’s goods. Searches may be based on suspicion or they may be entirely random. This expansive authority is necessary to permit effective policing of Canada’s borders. It increases the likelihood that contraventions of the law will be discovered by border service officers. Enhanced detection helps to deter non-compliance. R. v. Singh , 2014 ONSC 5658, at para 49. Border services officers have the authority to examine any good s, without grounds, up until the time the goods are released. Section 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act . Goods in the custody or possession of a person who is in a customs controlled area are subject to non-intrusive examination. Individualized suspicion is not required. ...