Border-crossing, and the Fest

luvvinvinyl

My best pal, Molly
Subscriber
I had a couple of conversations, today, with people at the Canada Border Services Agency, the former Canada Customs and Immigration people. One was through official channels, the other with a former co-worker of mine.

Here is the skinny on Canadians bringing their gear to the Fest. You will need to assemble ALL your gear, for the Fest: sources, amplification, speakers, cabling, stands, whatever you are bringing. Prepare an itemized list, detailing make, model, and serial number, if any, of every single piece that you wish to bring. Albums/CDs, as well. Everything. Sign and date this list. Bring the list, AND THE GEAR, ALL OF IT, to the nearest office of the CBSA. The officer, there, will inspect the gear, to validate the list, then either stamp your list, if it is a long list, or prepare a small Y-38 card (green, wallet sized). This document will prove to U.S. and Canadian Customs that the gear was in your possession, before you left Canada. CBSA will then NOT charge you taxes/duties on your gear. Both people told me the next part, twice, with special emphasis. Please pay close attention:

DO NOT SHOW UP AT THE BORDER, EXPECTING TO PREPARE THIS DOCUMENT, AND THEN CROSS INTO THE UNITED STATES.

This apparently is a sure-fire way to piss them off, royally, and guarantee that you will have many hours of waiting, while they decide if or when to process you. Is this fair? No. Can they do this anyway? You bet your ass.

So, if you need to locate the nearest office of the CBSA, go to their Website
Select the location, nearest you, and you are all set. GTA people, the agent recommended the office at 1 Front Street. Everyone else, check the website.

Remember, you MUST do this in advance, and you MUST bring every piece of gear listed, and list every piece of gear you are bringing to the Fest.

The document does not expire. This is only for personal systems.

Dealers have a whole other set of problems.

The CBSA can be reached at their Border Information Services (BIS) telephone number, 1-800-461-9999

I hope this helps answer the nagging questions about bringing gear across the border.
 
Thanks Ernie, this is great info.

I always figured it would be a major PITA to drag stuff down but this doesn't sound too bad if you can do all the ugliness ahead of time. Is this suppose to make the border crossing smooth going into the US as well as coming back into Canada?

I suppose it all comes down to how difficult and time consuming it is to load all your crap up and get it inspected at the local CBSA ahead of time. Unless you can leave it all loaded you'd be faced with unloading & setting up at home again after inspection, then tearing it all down later for the trip. The more I think of this the more I gotta think it's not feasible for a lot of stuff, a few pieces that can easily be loaded in a car, maybe, but a full system - at least my big-ass stuff - no way.

Is there some kind of fee for this?
 
Thanks for doing the footwork on this one !

I agree. Does not really seem to bad especially if you just want to bring parts of your system like speakers or an amp.
 
Bill, the US customs is going to know that you intend bringing your goods back into Canada, so, other than an inspection, it should smooth the way. You can count on visual inspection, in both directions, actually, fairly thorough, but, basically, it would amount to checking the list. I know that you have some big shi..., uh, stuff that I would love to hear, but it would be a pain to schlep around. The upside is you can do this anytime, to fit your schedule, and you would know how much you could fit in your vehicle.

There is no fee for this.
 
So how does this work for Americans taking the shortcut through Canada to Detroit? It's 320 miles for me if I cut across Southern Ontario vs 400 miles if I follow Rt 90 and Rt 80 along the southern shore of Lake Erie.
 
I suggest you contact US Customs, for advice.

I know that Grumpy has driven through Ontario, to get to Kam's. Maybe he can share his experience on that.
 
BTW, if you are crossing at Niagara, take the 402 to Sarnia/Port Huron, then south from there.
 
Passing through Canada with truck loads of gear has been no problem for me. They have always asked where i was going and I told em back home. They have always waived me through. Just be sure to have your Birth certificate to prove residency.
 
Bumping this because we have quite a few new members since this was written, many of whom are Canadian (Hoorah!) Hopefully, some of you will want to come to the 2006 AK Fest.
 
Kegger said:
Canadians! We don't need no stinkin canadians!
Kegger, do you REALLY want to make 'stinking Canadians' jokes, when you are facing several hours with me, in Grumpy's van???

Friday Evening's tentative menu: Italian sausage, smothered in peppers and sauteed onions, garlic bread, roasted potatoes, peppers, and onions, about a gallon of porter. Maybe I should start off with some navy bean soup! I'll show you a 'stinking Canadian'. :tears:
 
Obviously I was joking and hope everone took it that way! I love my fellow canadian
border mates!
 
By the way that meal sounds scrumptious Ernie! Dam I'm hungry now! And thirsty!
 
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