Canadians who aren't white say border agents discriminate against them as they return home

Canadians who aren't white say they're discriminated against at the Canadian border, and they believe it's because of their race.

A 33-year-old woman from Winnipeg, whom the CBC has agreed not to name because she fears reprisals in the future, said while she understands the need for national security and that border officers have a job to do, she believes she has negative interactions with border agents because of her race.

"It just adds to your lack of belonging. I'm a Canadian citizen. I was born here," she said about her experiences at the border.

"Every time I'm going through a land border in a car full of my [friends] who are not racialized, I'm always astounded at how easy it is."

A report published on the Canada Border Services Agency website says that in a survey, one in four border agents said they directly witnessed a colleague discriminate against a traveller in the last two years. 

Among those respondents, 71 per cent suggested the discrimination was based, in full or in part, on the traveller's race, and just over three-quarters of respondents cited the traveller's national or ethnic origin.

The Winnipeg woman said she's noticed when she travels by herself or with other people of colour, the process is much more difficult than when she's with white friends.

A moment that stands out in her memory was when she was returning to Canada from a weekend trip to the U.S. with her mother, who is an immigrant from the Caribbean. She was also with her boyfriend at the time, an American citizen. 

"We were pulled over and brought in for questioning. We were assumed to be trafficking him," she said. 

They were separated, and she was interrogated by border agents who didn't believe her story, she said

"I was 17 and I had nothing else to say, [except] we were with each other because he's my boyfriend. He's coming to visit me in my city and meet my family." 

She said they were eventually released and permitted to enter the country.

She feels a lot of anger and pain looking back at her experience — and it was only one of many instances when she's been targeted at the border, she said.

She said she gets bothered less at the border now, but it's likely because she's figured out how border agents want her to act — and she takes every measure to behave that way.