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Porting over this topic from the old forum:
Protectio Servitium Integritas (Protection, Service, Integrity)
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) [French: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada; ASFC] is tasked with providing integrated border services (customs, immigration and agricultural inspection) at over 1,200 locations across Canada. These include 119 land border crossings 13 international airports, three mail centres and three sea ports, meaning that the Agency employs a lot of people - 13,707 as of March 2017 (GC InfoBase). All these locations see a lot of people and goods; to be specific, the first face for the 20.8 million travellers that arrived into Canada last year (2017) would have likely been a Border Services Officer.
These officers need cars, which is the focus of this post. I've had the CBSA vehicles for quite a while now, but recently made a few more to complement the fleet. The ones that read "CBSA /ASFC" are the older ones, while the "Border Services/Services Frontaliers" are the more recent ones. A massive thank you to Bill over at BilBozo decals for supplying me with these decals - they are top notch in both accuracy and ease of use. Needless to say, I could not be happier as to how these turned out.
If you're interested, check out Bill's website: http://www.bilbozodecals.com/
Join me as we visit some of the CBSA's Ports of Entry, and see the vehicles that work there.
We start at the Pacific Highway Port of Entry over on the west coast. Many travelers see this crossing as an alternative to the Peace Arch/Douglas crossing that is a few kilometers away, however for commercial traffic it is the only route into Canada. This means that the port is essential for trade on the west coast, and because of this it is the fifth busiest commercial crossing into Canada. The busiest? Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit - where more than 500 million US dollars of goods pass by each day (CBC).
This Crown Victoria is overseeing regular traffic, and wears the older 2011 livery. I guess the officers there don't want to let go of this venerable vehicle just yet.
Commercial operations means that things get bigger - both in terms of the vehicle and what's inside. So the Ram is the best solution - and it too wears the 2011 livery. Guess the new markings haven't arrived just yet.
Next stop is the Douglas Port of Entry, also on the west coast. This port of entry connects Interstate 5 in the United States with Highway 99 in Canada, and so is a direct thoroughfare for Americans and Canadians alike. Its prime location means that traffic backs up a lot - especially in the summer months and on long weekends. This is a crossing where NEXUS is a must, even though all of the traffic here is recreational.
The Ford Police Interceptor Utility has become a staple in North American Law Enforcement Agencies, and the CBSA makes good use of them. This one sports the current livery of the CBSA, and provides a good presence to those crossing - telling them to "Be Aware and Declare"!
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2b5ygtf]
But it's not the only interceptor there - the updated 2016 model also works alongside it. I'm guessing there was a shift change, but nonetheless the message still stands. (Full disclosure: the CBSA doesn't actually use this models of Interceptor - opting for the new Charger - but I thought this would still be a fun model to make).
Our last stop takes us to any one of the 13 international airports in Canada. At these ports of Entry, many operations work together to ensure the seamless flow of thousands of legitimate travelers and goods. From the planes, to the people inside them, the CBSA makes sure that travelers are aware of what they can and cannot bring into Canada - and that those with ulterior motives are prevented from entering.
On the tarmac, the CBSA has been called out to investigate a suspicious package left in the cargo hold of an inbound aircraft. First on scene is this officer in their Charger, which makes sense because it has a HEMI under the hood:
Not wanting to expose themselves to a potentially dangerous substance, the officer calls in the Detector Dog Service (DDS). These dogs are specially trained in detection, and can sniff out items such as narcotics, currency, firearms and agricultural products. Safe to say, if one of these dogs hits on you, they're going to find something.
As a few units are on scene, it gives us a chance to view both liveries side by side:
That concludes our journey to some of the CBSA's ports! For more information, see the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Bo ... ces_Agency
There was a show about the Agency, which ran for 65 episodes: Border Security: Canada's Front Line (I believe it's on Netflix).
As usual, hope that you've enjoyed, and that it was educational at the very least!
Protectio Servitium Integritas (Protection, Service, Integrity)
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) [French: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada; ASFC] is tasked with providing integrated border services (customs, immigration and agricultural inspection) at over 1,200 locations across Canada. These include 119 land border crossings 13 international airports, three mail centres and three sea ports, meaning that the Agency employs a lot of people - 13,707 as of March 2017 (GC InfoBase). All these locations see a lot of people and goods; to be specific, the first face for the 20.8 million travellers that arrived into Canada last year (2017) would have likely been a Border Services Officer.
These officers need cars, which is the focus of this post. I've had the CBSA vehicles for quite a while now, but recently made a few more to complement the fleet. The ones that read "CBSA /ASFC" are the older ones, while the "Border Services/Services Frontaliers" are the more recent ones. A massive thank you to Bill over at BilBozo decals for supplying me with these decals - they are top notch in both accuracy and ease of use. Needless to say, I could not be happier as to how these turned out.
If you're interested, check out Bill's website: http://www.bilbozodecals.com/
Join me as we visit some of the CBSA's Ports of Entry, and see the vehicles that work there.
We start at the Pacific Highway Port of Entry over on the west coast. Many travelers see this crossing as an alternative to the Peace Arch/Douglas crossing that is a few kilometers away, however for commercial traffic it is the only route into Canada. This means that the port is essential for trade on the west coast, and because of this it is the fifth busiest commercial crossing into Canada. The busiest? Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit - where more than 500 million US dollars of goods pass by each day (CBC).
This Crown Victoria is overseeing regular traffic, and wears the older 2011 livery. I guess the officers there don't want to let go of this venerable vehicle just yet.
Commercial operations means that things get bigger - both in terms of the vehicle and what's inside. So the Ram is the best solution - and it too wears the 2011 livery. Guess the new markings haven't arrived just yet.
Next stop is the Douglas Port of Entry, also on the west coast. This port of entry connects Interstate 5 in the United States with Highway 99 in Canada, and so is a direct thoroughfare for Americans and Canadians alike. Its prime location means that traffic backs up a lot - especially in the summer months and on long weekends. This is a crossing where NEXUS is a must, even though all of the traffic here is recreational.
The Ford Police Interceptor Utility has become a staple in North American Law Enforcement Agencies, and the CBSA makes good use of them. This one sports the current livery of the CBSA, and provides a good presence to those crossing - telling them to "Be Aware and Declare"!
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2b5ygtf]
But it's not the only interceptor there - the updated 2016 model also works alongside it. I'm guessing there was a shift change, but nonetheless the message still stands. (Full disclosure: the CBSA doesn't actually use this models of Interceptor - opting for the new Charger - but I thought this would still be a fun model to make).
Our last stop takes us to any one of the 13 international airports in Canada. At these ports of Entry, many operations work together to ensure the seamless flow of thousands of legitimate travelers and goods. From the planes, to the people inside them, the CBSA makes sure that travelers are aware of what they can and cannot bring into Canada - and that those with ulterior motives are prevented from entering.
On the tarmac, the CBSA has been called out to investigate a suspicious package left in the cargo hold of an inbound aircraft. First on scene is this officer in their Charger, which makes sense because it has a HEMI under the hood:
Not wanting to expose themselves to a potentially dangerous substance, the officer calls in the Detector Dog Service (DDS). These dogs are specially trained in detection, and can sniff out items such as narcotics, currency, firearms and agricultural products. Safe to say, if one of these dogs hits on you, they're going to find something.
As a few units are on scene, it gives us a chance to view both liveries side by side:
That concludes our journey to some of the CBSA's ports! For more information, see the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Bo ... ces_Agency
There was a show about the Agency, which ran for 65 episodes: Border Security: Canada's Front Line (I believe it's on Netflix).
As usual, hope that you've enjoyed, and that it was educational at the very least!
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