Border visit 11 December 2022

Arrival at 3pm. Good exchange with the RCMP officers without any comment on our box with warm clothes as happened on two occasions.

Upon arrival, there was a Quebec immigration lawyer who had come to investigate and take pictures. I introduced myself and he asked me if he could interview me about our work. I refused, as I was not the person in the group authorized to do so, and moreover, I did not know the purpose of his investigation. He stayed until the first group arrived and photographed or filmed their arrival.

First group of 7 people in an unidentified cab, most likely of Middle Eastern origin. They were hesitating to cross, as if they were waiting for my approval to join the customs officers. They moved on when I gave them a sign.

Second and third group, arriving in minivan taxis, about twenty people (mostly adult men with two or three women and 4 children), probably coming from South America and Africa.

When we welcome people, it seems important to tell them that the mittens etc. are free. The drivers were very cooperative in telling them that it was free. 

I left at 4:15 pm.

About 1/4 km from the border a group of 7 people (children and adults) were walking towards the border. A driver in an unidentified van came and offered to take them to the border. After some back and forth, they refused the offer, as they had almost arrived. I took out the bin with the warm things, because I could see that they would have been useful. But in the end I decided to go back to my car, not wanting to intervene, being alone and in the dark, with people who no doubt were tired and had had their share of difficult interactions by that point.

At the Canadian border post, a very nice customs officer gave me my passport with a strange smile. I asked her what this smile meant... Answer: ''We pay enough taxes as it is'', probably in disapproval of our work.