Your View - British Columbia

I just viewed a video on you tube of the incident at the Vancouver airport and the only word I can think of to describe my feelings right now is disgust. And to think they actually need an "inquiry" for this one...more waste of tax payers money.

Here is what happened...4 RCMP officers surround a disoriented confused helpless unarmed man. That is FOUR supposedly trained RCMP officers...why on earth did they have to use the tazer?????? There was 4 against one...it was either the four were all cowards or lazy.

If 4 supposedly trained RCMP officers need the assistance of a tazer gun to subdue an unarmed man then it is time for them to review how they train their officers, obviously they are not training them to apprehend a suspect properly.

Those 4 RCMP officers should be charged with manslaughter.

Joanne Johnson
Sydney, Nova Scotia

Posted November 26, 2007 03:52 AM

I am getting tired of this CHICKEN LITTLE SYNDROME the Media is spreading.

"THE TASER KILLED HIM - THE TASER KILLED HIM"

From what I saw on the video, the Taser knocked him off is feet and sent is body into uncontrolled convulsions.

He was killed by those two big bullies sitting on his back with one knee his on his neck so he could not breathe, until he blacked out.

Then they just stood there and watched him die, instead of helping him.

My guess is that if they Tasered him again at that time, it would have revived him.

Something like, when a person has cardic arrest and they jolt them high voltage to restart the hart.

Why don't you get some opinions from Medically Trained people on this theory.

BUT the bigger Question and Problem here is with Border Services and the Security of our Country?

Here they cleared this person to enter Canada with no questions asked.

How many have been allowed to enter Canada the some way.

How many of them were "Undesirables".

Also why did YVR failed to help the poor Mother when she asked for help, more than once.

Somebody in Upper Management should be fired without recourse, in both these places.

I also think Stockwell Day should made to stepdown, for failing to provide Canada with proper Security.

Posted November 21, 2007 12:16 PM

A few years ago my wife travelled by bus from Nanning China to Hong Kong. She was hung up at the HK airport overnight, as a result of a document problem, with no money to buy food. She flew to YVR, took about 6 hours to clear immigration, and came out through the glass doors to find me waiting for her patiently. She spoke minimal English at the time. At no time did she throw any computers on the floor in spite of an experience not too different from Robert Dziekanski's.
Earlier I had travelled to Hong Kong,cleared customs, caught a bus to Quangzhou, cleared customs there, laid overnight, caught a bus to Nanning, China, taken a taxi to my wifes apartment, and managed to call her from the street on a public telephone to tell her I had arrived. Not once did I throw any computers to the floor I don't speak a word of Chinese.
I am thinking there is no problem with YVR or any other International Airport provided the customers keep their heads.
Clearly the judgement of the RCMP was atrocious in this case and guidelines regarding the use of tasers need to be revised but let us not hold Mr. Dziekanski entirely blameless either.

Posted November 18, 2007 09:56 PM

Vancouver Airport -Citizens as "visitors"

On arrival at YVR it seems that if you are a "non-resident," you don't get the treatment of a "citizen or tax-paying landed immigrant."

As a third-generation Canadian born in Canada, raised in Vancouver, returning regularly, I still want to feel proud of and part of Canada and its institutions- not resentful and humiliated.

You are asked, "where are you staying," "who are you visiting," as if some kind of tourist. If I were to say to an officer, "excuse me, but with all due respect, since when as a Canadian citizen do I have to answer questions like that -I'll go or stay wherever I want," now how do you think they would react to that?

My guess is that in the current atmosphere of intimidation, I would be in hot water and subject to harassment, in addition to which the authorities literally want people to think so.

There are many ways to be a "Canadian," one of which, I think is in creating bridges with other countries. Many Canadians represent Canada overseas for extended periods, creating jobs, employment and goodwill for Canada.

Posted November 18, 2007 07:09 PM

As a BC resident thoroughly familiar with the airport and international flights, I had a personal experience at YVR exposing the complete lack of communication and YVR staff's disinterest to be of assistance. I were awaiting a 20yr old niece, who could speak English, and who was scheduled to arrive from Amsterdam. The logical place to wait for her was at the international arrival area at the lower level. However, unknown to me, her charter flight had made a landing in Edmonton first, where all passengers had cleared customs. My guest had been waiting for me for several hours in the domestic arrival area. My inquiries at several locations, including the information booth at the upper level (international departures) as well as her inquiries at the domestic terminal were met with complete indifference and no attempt was made to lend assistance. The best they could offer me was "she probably wasn't on the plane" At the domestic terminal an elderly Vancouver resident volunteered to assist my somewhat distraught niece. This helpful lady called our home (1.5 hrs from Vancouver) and left a message with family members. I happened to call home and received the message, which put me in contact with my guest. I found her all by herself and the helpful lady in a virtually deserted baggage claim area.

Conclusion: YVR is not the place for inexperienced travelers. Lots of fancy artwork, but no staff willing or able to assist.

Our suggestion: Follow Amsterdam's example. In the center of the main terminal hall a huge banner is suspended from the ceiling reading "Meeting Area". Anyone looking for another person will be directed by staff to this area. Very effective, even in a airport many times the size of YVR

Posted November 18, 2007 01:28 PM

What shame have these inept officers brought on Canada. How can we talk our way out of this one. With the up coming Olympics the eyes of the World are upon us and look what we did.

Coming into Canada is a frustrating experience when you are sent through secondary immigration. The delays are terrible and it is so poorly organized. Cannot get any information out of the office in arrivals area about the poor visitors stuck in the back.

Attitude a big issue and lack of assistance. I can only imagine how upset Robert must have been when no one gave a damn about the amount of time he was there and the problems that gave him, O Canada!

Taser primed and ready they go in, as he hits the floor 4 cops jump on him and force him into submission, the police spokeman says he resisted arrest. I would like to taser him and see if he can stay still while writhing in agony. While his heart feels like it is going to jump out of his chest and he is going to pass out at any moment I would challenge him to remain still and not fight for ones breath in sheer panic.

The World should boycott the Olympics if this does not get sorted out with effective and measureable solutions.

Posted November 18, 2007 04:19 AM

My wife and I travelled from Vancouver International Airport to Thailand in the spring of 2006. Leaving was relatively uneventful late at night.

However, arriving back in the airport 10 days later was a kind of cultural shock related to security and processing.

When we compared the attitude of airport security to other places like Hong Kong, and Bangkok Thailand, there was an aire of arrogance from customs, immigration, airport security and the RCMP whom we actually asked for directions. The RCMP especially, walked with this aire of superiority. They were abrupt and arrogant.

I had to ask one security fellow (Indo-Canadian) to speak to my wife in kind words instead of his brusque, rude attitude. I told him that we appreciate the security but that gave him no right to speak without please, and thank you in soft, kind tones. We were no threat to him, until I heard him being rude to my wife, then... I was a threat to him momentarily and I am not a violent person. The security guard changed his attitude once he knew that I meant business and hadn't done anything wrong.

Vancouver International Airport has an overall problem with attitude which starts from the top and filters down into all proponents of security and policing in the airport. I don't have enough space here to back that statement up, but our experience there was not positive in 2006 when coming back.

Posted November 16, 2007 08:23 PM

Aaron I don't wanna say that u're an asshole, it would be uncivilized to tell u that since u live in a "civilized" country y tu mama tambien hijo de puta!!!

Posted November 16, 2007 05:41 AM

The bottom line is that inncocent passenger was murdered by RCMP at Vancouver airport. Can canadian goverment do anything about that?

How this fact can be explained???

Jim

Posted November 15, 2007 08:29 PM

This poor man was frustrated by being ignored for hours by everybody especially immigration and airport staff. It is unbelievable that nobody helped him to get out of the airport knowing that he does not speak english or french. His mother asked for help and she was ignored. What kind of people are being hired at airports? Brainless morons without any feelings? I do not know what to say...

Dziekanski was scared and after security and police arrived he was scared even more because he needed a police help and he called "Policja" which is Police in polish language but he was probably expecting people in blue uniforms as they have blue uniforms in Poland. Instead he saw people in black uniforms and black uniforms are weared by "security people' in Poland.

It is a shame that this is the way Canada is welcoming new immigrants!

I heard many times here that this is the best country in the world. In what? In killing innocent passengers? I would like to hear official explanation why RCMP murdered innocent person. bacause what they said on TV was obviously ONE BIG LIE!!!

They did not give this man even a slight chance to defend himself.
He was murdered instantly by "perfect" RCMP officers (who followed their policies LOL!) Great Job Vancouver Airport people and RCMP! Congratulations!
=======================================================

A lie is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement with the intention to deceive, often with the further intention to maintain a secret or reputation, or to avoid punishment

Posted November 15, 2007 08:04 PM

How could this happen? Four trained police officers could not subdue a tired and exhausted man. My expectation of Canadian police officers is to be competent at their job! They must make every effort to resolve a bad situation peacefully before they would pull out a gun or a taser. The best weapon should be their brain and intelligence, but obviously the screening and hiring process is not very thorough. We had 9/11 and other atrocities around the world and while we should be more alert to terrorism and criminal activities, it is very important to hang on to our humanity and treat each other with respect! At YVR it is very difficult to meet a courteous and friendly employee. My suggestion to the staff at YVR is to look at and listen to the complaints and try to improve on the level of professionalism. When I travel I expect to see friendly, smiling and helpful people, who will treat me like a human being not cattle! If you don't like your job being a police officer, because it's too stressful, please find another job without a gun! And please hurry, before I go on my next vacation!

ps: Taser is safe!? Are you sure? What about people with a heart condition and other ailments? How do you know that the person you just shot will survive a taser?

Posted November 15, 2007 08:03 PM

How could this happen? Four trained police officers could not subdue a tired and exhausted man. My expectation of Canadian police officers is to be competent at their job! They must make every effort to resolve a bad situation peacefully before they would pull out a gun or a taser. The best weapon should be their brain and intelligence, but obviously the screening and hiring process is not very thorough. We had 9/11 and other atrocities around the world and while we should be more alert to terrorism and criminal activities, it is very important to hang on to our humanity and treat each other with respect! At YVR it is very difficult to meet a courteous and friendly employee. My suggestion to the staff at YVR is to look at and listen to the complaints and try to improve on the level of professionalism. When I travel I expect to see friendly, smiling and helpful people, who will treat me like a human being not cattle! If you don't like your job being a police officer, because it's too stressful, please find another job without a gun! And please hurry, before I go on my next vacation!

ps: Taser is safe!? Are you sure? What about people with a heart condition and other ailments? How do you know that the person you just shot will survive a taser?

Posted November 15, 2007 08:02 PM

How could this happen? Four trained police officers could not subdue a tired and exhausted man. My expectation of Canadian police officers is to be competent at their job! They must make every effort to resolve a bad situation peacefully before they would pull out a gun or a taser. The best weapon should be their brain and intelligence, but obviously the screening and hiring process is not very thorough. We had 9/11 and other atrocities around the world and while we should be more alert to terrorism and criminal activities, it is very important to hang on to our humanity and treat each other with respect! At YVR it is very difficult to meet a courteous and friendly employee. My suggestion to the staff at YVR is to look at and listen to the complaints and try to improve on the level of professionalism. When I travel I expect to see friendly, smiling and helpful people, who will treat me like a human being not cattle! If you don't like your job being a police officer, because it's too stressful, please find another job without a gun! And please hurry, before I go on my next vacation!

ps: Taser is safe!? Are you sure? What about people with a heart condition and other ailments? How do you know that the person you just shot will survive a taser?

Posted November 15, 2007 07:49 PM

What is the matter with police around YVR? Just because an innocent man cannot speak english very well that they just assume him as a terrorist or something? Also, why taser the polish man when there were four rigorous police who could easily put a cuff on him? Was the taser necessary or was it because the police who were present at the incident were lazy? How pathetic is it that four beefy guys tasering one feeble and angry man who was trapped in the airport for 10 hours? Gosh... Please. Think before you act...(so foolish)

Posted November 15, 2007 07:28 PM

I acknowledge that the RCMP has many very difficult assignments. However, the RCMP attack on an unarmed, exhausted, lost traveler who did not speak English and resulted in death, is a national disgrace. Additionally, there was deliberate misinformation and discrediting of eyewitnesses by the RCMP.

Others who are staying very quiet and could probably have prevented this disgusting event include the Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR), and Canadian Border Services Agency in the Customs Hall at Vancouver Airport.

Question for Mr. Larry Berg, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority – When Mrs. Dziekanski (mother of deceased) attempted to make contact with her son (Robert Dziekanski) over many hours while both were at YVR and only a short distance apart, why is there no one on your staff who is able to take immediate action to close the communication gap and resolve what became a disastrous event?

Question for the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety – Mr. Robert Dziekanski spent many hours in the Customs Hall at Vancouver Airport. This is the domain of the Canadian Border Services Agency. In recent years, there has been a need to be more vigilant and this should definitely be true in the Customs Hall. Why did none of your staff not notice this person loitering there and provide assistance to him?

Acknowledgement - On November 2, 2007, (after waiting 18 days) Vancouver Airport Authority President and CEO Larry Berg issued a public statement regarding the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport on October 14, 2007.

cc. Stockwell Day day.s@parl.gc.ca

Posted November 15, 2007 04:03 PM

What can you say about police that tazer people who are unarmed or in situations that clearly could be controlled through negotionations.
I think that police are on power trips when they do tazer some of these people who clearly crying out for HELP. How about training officer in these types of situations????? I guess a lightbulb should lite up in someone head? The police and the government want peace thay say, but how can you achieve peace through this type of voilence. I see that you (meaning the police)tazers some people that you don't understand, then ask questions later. If they die in the process oh well I don't know him/her so what do I care. ( I guess this is what the police are saying when they are in these types of situations, who cares that they are taught to handle these situations with tazers.(BIG QUESTION) I have an answer why dosen't the government make it manditory for police personal have an education greater that grade twelve, than maybe we would have a better police force with better judgement.

Posted November 15, 2007 01:30 PM

I have travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and North America and in my experience, YVR has the rudest and most obnoxious Customs and security personnel anywhere in the world. In my lifetime, I have flown hundreds of times and my luggage has been searched exactly 3 times, each time at YVR, each time I was travelling with my wife and my 2 little kids. I am obviously a zero risk case and I was being hassled by these badge carrying morons because they felt like it. Considering that these people are the first Canadians that travelers and tourists meet, maybe they should learn some people skills. This way, people will have a better first impression of this country, especially with the Olympics here in a few years.

Posted November 15, 2007 11:29 AM

What I find so troubling about this incident was the casual nature with which the RCMP officers dismissed there responsibility to aid this man after they had rendered him unconcious. Did anyone notice if they tried CPR, or attempted to clear his airway to aid his breathing. Instead they casually wrapped up there Taser wire and watched the man die. I listened carefully to the explanations of the RCMP spokesman CPL Lematrie whose initial explanation to the public was that the man was fighting with the RCMP. We now know that that information was not true. Then we hear another RCMP spokesman yesterday tell us to wait before making a judgement as all the evidence is not in yet. The problem for me is can we believe what the RCMP tell us? They refused to give this tape back to it's original owner because in my view they wanted to suppress it. If Mr. Pritchard the man who took the video hadn't gone to court the public would have spoon fed a sanitized and highly spun explanation about the correctness of the RCMP actions. My finial comment about the use of Tasers as an alternative to deadly force to me is a red herring. What do they do in our Federal Prisons, where Correctional Officers deal with individuals on a daily basis with anger management problems, substance abuse and emotional problems. I have never heard of an inmate in Canadian Federal custody die from a Taser shock. How is that our Correctional Staff can manage to subdue individuals without resorting to these weapons but our police officers can't. These are questions that need to be answered but in my opinion the old boys club of the RCMP investigating themselves one more time will not provide the public with any real answers. Appoint a Special Prosecutor and let's get to the bottom of this tragic and unnecessary incident.

Posted November 15, 2007 09:09 AM

I am greatly disturbed by what I saw yesterday on the news. The poor man was murdered by the RCMP. The officers involved should be held accountable for using excessive violence against an unarmed man. There was no effort of them trying to calm the man down. After 27 seconds they resorted to the use of a gun.
Reading some of the earlier comments makes me sick how people can justify police action. I hope you will never find yourself in that situation.
It is easy to judge the man of being too violent and smashing computers but for anyone who says so you are at home, not hungry, and comfortable in your own environment. This man did not receive any help for close to 10 hours. Not to mention the 10 hour flight and 9 hour time difference between Poland and B.C. He was exhausted and desperate. Did he deserve to DIE for that.
I am not proud of being Canadian.

Posted November 15, 2007 07:25 AM

I watched the video and was sickened by the Police using the Tazer so quickly when the man was standing still. He was probably glad that someone was finally there to help him because he had been there so long and on such a long flight and didn't speak the language, he looked frustrated not violent ( and how is it that a woman there was able to calm him down ?) Why was his mother sent home to Kamloops when she was there to pick him up and there was no one there to help her. I put myself in his place, if I was in a foreign country and no one to help me and not able to speak the language. I hope we learn something from this ! Employees that speak other languages. YVR is such a large airport and has so many people coming thru that can't speak the language - there should be somewhere they could go or someone they could speak to for help. At this point I am NOT proud to be a Canadian.

Posted November 14, 2007 06:52 PM

I have been through YVR numerous times on international flights and my experience has been nothing but positive. I have had my luggage searched, big deal, I don't have anything to hide.

This case where that has been all the rage in the media is tragic. It is a shame that the individual in question died as a result of the taser. I wonder though... what would I have wanted if the man had thrown a computer and it landed next to me? I think in this case both parties should shoulder some of the blame. The man should not have gotten belligerent and started throwing things, and the RCMP should have tried harder to subdue the man before using the taser.

You should ALWAYS plan before you take flights (domestic or international) especially if you don't speak the language. You can call the airline ahead of time and let them know that someone on the other end is allowed to find out about your status on the flight, that way if you miss a connection, he/she can check with the airline and the airline can release that information. Planning ahead could have avoided this entire situation.

Posted November 1, 2007 04:00 PM

Most of the time we take European flights from and to Seattle-Tacoma (less expensive). Nevertheless, we have travelled from and to YVR several times and picked up or seen off our visitors. Nothing out of ordinary. The only unpleasant experience were missing items from our visitors' runsacked luggage. We contacted customs officers every time it happened and they were trying to help us by going through all confiscated stuff in their possession, but the thefts must have been done by the luggage handlers. It's amazing that not a single item was mising on our way more frequent flights from and to Seatac.

Posted November 1, 2007 02:19 PM

When they upgraded YVR they forgot to upgrade their personnel. Rotten service by people who hate their jobs!

Posted October 31, 2007 10:29 PM

While YVR is a beautiful facility, has anyone ever gotten off an international flight between noon and 4pm? Wait times regardless of whether you are Canadian or not up to four hours. Four hours to get through primary customs/immigration. If you ARE referred to secondary, say you are an international citizen. You may be facing an additional 3-4 hours wait in immigration and, then if you are referred to customs, maybe another few hours. If you don't speak english, that's a whole other matter - translators are not always right there waiting for anyone. So... Does no one think this is a bit outrageous?

I can't comment on this particular situation, but I can say that any reasonable person who has just flown for 8 or 12 hours might be a little cranky at the prospect of spending an additional 10+ hours waiting.

Maybe the customs/immigration facilities and CBSA should be expanded to try and deal more effectively with this sort of volume!

It certainly isn't a very nice "Welcome to Canada" to have to wait 10 hours just from the time you get off your flight...

Posted October 31, 2007 09:44 AM

I saw a similar incident at the Vancouver airport in 1994 with an asian man who with no English. The police made no attempt to calm him down or speak to him - they just jumped him and violently wrestled him to the ground, with his toddler child just crying at the side, with no care. Some people understood what the man was upset about, and wanted to help, but recoiled when they saw the police response of fear, loathing, and force.

There is a real problem with YVR's protocol for handling situations like these: they do not appreciate how stressful it is for somebody who cannot speak English and how easy it is to be lost in that airport. True, if you come here, know some language - but if this is a 'diverse' country, there should be some on-call translation available, and multilingual signs everywhere. But tasers are cheaper and more effective, I guess. When you only know how to use a hammer, every problem looks like a nail... especially if you are RCMP at YVR.

Since 9-11 we’ve been swamped with ‘security first’ ideology, and police get uncritically rewarded for using excessive force (what about that bus taser incident in Vancouver too?)What national security concerns are hidden in the video? Authorities must earn their respect like the rest of us.

Don’t count on seeing the footage. This case will be a measure of Canadian rule of law vs. police power interests. I want to hear the excuses for not returning the memory card.

In the future, make a copy of the video first, then consider turning it over. (yeah, call your lawyer before handing it over) We like to roll our eyes at those people who immediately call CNN with their videos, but at least its all out there for everyone to see. We’ve lulled ourselves into thinking police do no wrong in Canada. Are rule of law, individual rights, due process and equal treatment mere luxuries for those with the power to afford them?

Posted October 30, 2007 03:20 PM

What some of the people commenting here don't seem to quite get is that this poor man is DEAD. Yes, it could definitely be argued that he and his mother made mistakes, but if the penalty for making a mistake is DEATH, we'd all be dead. I just find it incredibly bizarre that people can so easily justify a death.

Something the police seem to forget, and something that seems to have been forgotten by all but one other commenter here, is that the police exist to protect the public, not to police us. There is a vast difference.

Posted October 30, 2007 03:17 PM

It doesn't really matter what the circumstances were and what languages everyone does and does not speak: If a police officer brandishes a weapon at you, you darn well better calm down, be quiet, raise your hands or get on the floor. I would think this is a "universal" language. See weapon pointed at you, be quiet.

Posted October 30, 2007 09:57 AM

The lady that shot the event on her camera at YVR was trying to assist the fellow, thank you. She made reference to a limo driver that was being verbally abusive to the lost individual and he was the one that opened the door to some secured area, so I feel he is the one they should have tazered because Canada doesn't need him driving the welcoming wagon. How could YVR staff been so far off base to send the mother home when her son was actually at the airport? that's absurd. Tazer guns are presently classed as non lethal weapons but at the strength that are RCMP are issued is questionable. If they need to fire these weapons at an individual more than "once" than their needs to be proper accountabilty to the public at large. I would love to sign a petition to this effect because I feel even a grizzly bear would have suffered some form of internal organ damage due to the duress placed upon him by our YVR/RCMP welcoming committee. I wonder if it had been a women in the same distress at YVR, would they also have shoot her until they electrocuted her? To the mother: I know your son can't be brought back or the past event changed but please accept my sympathy and don't lose faith in Canada being a wonderful place to live.

Posted October 29, 2007 09:07 PM

I travel extensively through YVR, no major issues, but I do know this: when that Polish man was in customs, and he cleared I read with no issues at secondary Customs, it means that someone in Customs likely spoke Polish. They would have told the man what next steps he would need to take, where he would need to go, and that would be to proceed to the exit. I am sure I have even seen people escorted to that point.

Posted October 29, 2007 08:14 PM

According to an interview with CBC Radio, his mother told him to meet her at the baggage area. As it is not possible for people to get access to that area unless they are on an incoming flight, this was likely what started the whole thing off. He would not want to leave the area, knowing that his mother was meeting him there.

Secondly, he presumably knew that he was coming to Canada several months prior to his actual arrival. It would have behooved him to study a bit of English or French in advance of that trip. To expect to have people in authority at this end who speak Polish is simply foolish.

He was obviously frustrated, but to begin throwing things around a room and destroying furniture was very unproductive. Had he hurt someone in the process, people would now be asking why the police weren't there to subdue him.

This case is not black and white. The only clear things are that it is quite unfortunate for all involved and that both he and his mother share some of the blame – along with the RCMP and YVR security staff – for this “comedy” of errors.

Posted October 29, 2007 05:12 PM

I am not able to comment on the YVR taser story because all I know about it comes from the media, which often get its information from biased and unreliable sources. Opinions and persectives are often expressed as fact by those close to news stories and this leads to inaccuate or incomplete reporting. I also do not agree with the vew that the relatives of the deceased should "sue the hell out of" the government. A significant portion of my income goes to government now. I don't really need to more going to pay lawyers or judgments. I had nothing to do with the incident and don't really feel like paying for it.

My personal experience with YVR, and I use it often, is positive overall. However, most, but not all, of the Canada Customs agents I have encountered have been rude and almost inert. They don't appear to understand they are there to serve me, not to process me. A smile and eye contact would be a good start and costs nothing. If they wished to hang on to their old ways, they could still remain secretly surly and just smile as a ruse.

Posted October 29, 2007 04:46 PM

My mom came to visit from Mexico 2 months ago. As with the man in this incident, she speaks very little English and had never left Mexico before, so I took time to carefully explain her what to expect on the arrival process. I gave her my home and cell phone numbers, and had her write down my name, address and other information so she could show the immigration agents all they may require. Should anything go wrong, she could have given me a call to my cell phone or leave a message at home.

She went through immigration, and a detailed interview with the immigration officers. They didn't speak Spanish, but because she had all the information written, she had no problem at all. Everyone was very polite and helped her out to the arrivals area.

I couldn't find her for three hours after her flight arrived, but she didn't throw things at anyone, she just stayed put waiting for me. And finally, when she started to get desperate, what did she do? She managed to borrow a cell phone from some nice lady to give me a call. She was standing 30 feet from me! And while she was waiting, she was asked 3 TIMES by security and airport staff if she needed any help.

And even where there was a language barrier, she had a positive experience from immigration and customs officers, security and YVR staff, and even the people at the arrivals area. The difference is that she was prepared when she came, with all the information and had my phone number... but specially, she didn't go ballistic.

Why everyone is focusing on the YVR staff and police, but nobody questions the behaviour of the family and the man? It is indeed tragic he died, but the ultimate blame is on him and the family. It is a harsh reality to accept, and maybe that's why nobody goes through that path.

I do believe, however, that police should have restrained him with force instead of a Taser, and this should be investigated. But then again, had he not been aggressive, we wouldn't be talking about this now, right?

Posted October 29, 2007 04:31 PM

I have only had postive experiences at YVR, and I fly often enough. I had a very frustrating experience in Bologna Italy though.....I had missed a train and had to take another to Pisa. I had no idea which train to take. I went 3 times to the information desk, but they would just tell me which platform to go to. There, the train conductor would say "no, not Pisa, Naples" ect. I broke in to tears of frustration and kicked a cement wall. A nice Australian girl asked if I was ok. It helped to have someone offer help, or at least listen to me. When I returned to the information desk for the umteeth time they finally told me I would have to change trains 3 times and wrote it out for me. I had an Italian phrase book with me, but I still couldn't get help. I think they finally felt sorry enough for me to explain which trains I needed to take.

The man at YVR should have had a phrase book, at least you can point to words.
YVR should have not left him for so long. It is very stressful to feel out of place in a foreign country.

At the time I really thought I would never get out of that train station in Italy!

Posted October 29, 2007 01:37 PM

Two years ago I had a difficult time when my son arrived back from the US and was held up in customs for almost 3 hours. There was no way to find out of he was in the airport or had missed the flight. After much prodding, the Canada Customs office finally told me he was still in the back room - although they said they were "violating his privacy" by telling me. There needs to be a way to find out who has and has not arrived.

Posted October 29, 2007 01:28 PM

My son was paralyzed in an accident in the US and I went out to the airport to try to fly to him in the evening. Although I have a US passport, I was not allowed to go through US customs to the gate of a flight that had not left yet because I did not have a boarding pass. Check in had closed, but the plane had not left. There was no one who could help me. I stood there crying and had to go home and fly to him the next day. I would have paid anything to get on that flight and I am sure the staff at the gate would have let me on, if I had had a change to explain the situation.

Posted October 29, 2007 08:09 AM

I have nearly always been impressed with the staff of YVR, however the top customs officials who dictate policy have removed COMPASSION from there direction. ´Shoot and ask questions later,´ sounds more like a hollywood cowboy movie.

Organize your arrivals/customs line ups better(so no one has a surprise 10hr. wait) and you´ll find a more patient visitor.

OR smile and see what happens...

Posted October 29, 2007 06:09 AM

To me there is a key point in this situation: Mr. Dziekanski was UNARMED. As someone else said here, the police are too quick to resort to intimidation and violence; I've seen this first hand, and a friend of mine recently experienced it herself at YVR. In becoming a cop you explicitly accept the risk that you will have to, in the routine course of daily duty, put yourself in harm's way. If you're not willing to handle an unarmed man without resorting to the cowardly act of pulling a Taser or a gun, then you should resign from the Force and get a job flipping burgers.

Not only was Mr. Dziekanski unarmed, but as has also been pointed out he was in a "secure" (obviously not for him though) area where he could not have had access to weapons or drugs, and had been there for ten hours, presumably under the watchful eye of security personnel all that time. How could he have possibly remained in that area for even half an hour without someone questioning him and offering to help? The negligence of everyone on shift in that area during that time, culminating in the negligence of the person who murdered him, is palpable.

Posted October 29, 2007 03:21 AM

To those who think taser guns are good things:
I hope one day police try it on you at YVR!!
To those who think you must know English or French to come to Canada:
Let's look back to Canada's history and see if all immigrants who came to this great country knew English or French?!
To those who feel no sorry for this tragic accident:
I hope this kind of accident never happen to you, but if it does, you won't say that was an "erratic behaviour" and "I got what I deserved".
Air Travel after 9/11 has been a nightmare to millions of people.
Let's hope that these tragedies never happen again.

Posted October 29, 2007 03:03 AM

1 - I think police were (likely) justified in using a taser if the 'throwing computers about' in a secure (or any really) area is indeed true.
2 - The deeper question, and problem is why it came to this in the first place.

It seems that he was detained or not helped for 12 hrs. 12 hrs. And without anyone bothering to find someone to help. To help translate. For the commenter who mentioned 'why has this captured the public's eye?', I think it is because that we as Canadians pride ourselves on *helping* people. We help everyone irrespective of country of origin, class, creed or otherwise. That is what we as Canadians would like to believe about ourselves. So we have an individual who doesn't speak English who isn't helped - who is shunted off, and who, after 12 hrs (+ flight) loses it. And subsequently dies.

I had an experience in Krasnoyarsk (Siberia) airport a number of years ago where I was trying to located a bag. Pretty banal. But *nobody* spoke English and I spoke no Russian. I was laughed at, pointed at, and felt absolutely humiliated. And a deep righteous anger - that these were people who didn't care about my predicament a "not my problem attitude". And, really, it didn't affect them. Who cares. But in the back of my mind was this notion that were I back in Canada this would never happen - someone would jump in; would help; would translate; would, do, something.

But in this gentleman's case it appears that no one went that extra mile. No one helped this man out *before* it got to the point where he lost it. And I can sympathize with that - what incredible frustration.

In any case, I have never had a bad experience myself in the dozen or two times I have landed internationally at YVR, but I am a Canadian citizen.

Not that it should matter.

Posted October 29, 2007 02:31 AM

Unfortunately, there is growing crime and illegal activity entering Canada so that customs personnel and police have an extremely challenging job.

I know that YVR is probably the one place where people speaking a myriad of languages are likely to work, so that the probablity of finding a Polish interpreter was probably highest at the airport.

I'm sure that an interpreter would have been on the way or available to help deal with this communication breakdown, had this event occured earlier in the day.

In defence of the airport management,I recall a news item years ago that the Airport Authority was sued by a philandering individual who was seeing his girlfriend off inside customs before he met his wife outside customs. His claim against the airport was that there should not be TV cameras that showed greeters the area inside customs as this invaded his privacy!

Hence, the systems which were previously available to the public were taken away because of pressure on the airport by a small number of people without ethics.

I think it would be great if the CRA and YVR operations would consider having a teleprompter outside of customs, similar to those which announce flight arrivals. That teleprompter could be used to announce when people are detained and alert parties who await their arrival to go to the customs office to enquire.

That being said, this is a truly a sad and regrettable event, reflecting the horrific times in which we live.
My heart goes out to the mother and family of this man.

Posted October 28, 2007 05:03 PM

Let's not confuse YVR with Canada Customs. As somebody who travels through many of the worlds major airports on a regular basis, I can confidently say that YVR is easily one of the best airports. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the experience of clearing Canada Customs. Even with a Canadian Passport it can be a trying experience. I can't imagine how a new immigrant might be treated.

Posted October 28, 2007 04:34 AM

I travel about 5 times per year. Almost every time I'm alone somebody pick me randomly for a through search. So far they didn't find anything they just waist my time. I've been in Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Holland, Germany, UK, Mexic, USA and so far the worst are USA, and UK then Canada.

I had once to wait for my mom. There was no way to help her. She does dos not speak english cause only on movies all people speak English and was impossible to connect with her. After waiting 5 hours she started crying and some policeman took her and the luggage and escorted her outside. Unfortunately not the normal arrival door. When I decided to go home after about 5 hours I saw her on a bench.. Really luck.

Posted October 27, 2007 10:29 PM

Principles underlying the use of force are supposed to be an important component of police training. Police used a "non-lethal" weapon on this person, which is only supposed to be done if verbal, and hands-only techniques are assumed to be inappropriate.

Hopefully we'll see if a qualified third party also believes weapons were needed to subdue this person.

Posted October 27, 2007 06:51 PM

travelled through vancouver airport last february on our first visist to canada, we were impressed how clean and calm the airport was in comparison to london heathrow. we also found information staff were very helpfull in guiding us onto futher transport(finally chose the bus) to take us into central vancouver. the whole experience was very positive as were nearly all our experiences in Canada (a truly wonderful country)

Posted October 27, 2007 11:17 AM

Such a sad story :( It's a shame police acted this way and ended this man's life, yet one can not wonder why Robert wasn't more prepared by his family, i.e. a short note in english 'please help me locate my mum' or her phone number, etc. Either way, what a senseless way to end one's life.

Posted October 27, 2007 10:26 AM

My deepest sympathy to the mother. No one should have to outlive her own child, never mind the circumstances.
50,000 volts sounds a little excessive, and if he was tasered with two weapons at the same time, it's no wonder it was fatal. I agree with the concept of this weapon (call it what is), but I firmly believe this voltage needs to be reviewed. Someone in perfect health can withstand such voltage, but anyone with a heart condition, a brain condition or other malady can very easily die from this.
Maybe it's just my rotten luck, but I found that when you take a flight, the service can be somewhat lousy wherever you're at. Anyone could lose it when stuck in an area without food or fluids for that amount of time.
Lastly, the RCMP really needs to get rid of the cowboys in their ranks to regain the respect of the people they are supposed to PROTECT AND SERVE. There is plenty of room for quick thinking but there is no room for arrogance. There is a pressing need for more psychological testing of new recruits and closer montioring of the manner and behavior of all members. The job is far too important to let these things slide, for the public at large and for the members themselves.

Posted October 27, 2007 02:31 AM

What's amazing to me is how early the spin started on this story. When it broke, Mr. Dziekanski was said to have been intoxicated and covered in sweat. Now it comes out there was no alcohol in his system. Do we really need an autopsy to determine that someone who's spent ten hours in a controlled airport area could not possibly have been drunk? And who wouldn't have been sweaty after a long trip like that? It's pointless to blame or not blame the mounties for this tragedy, because this situation would never have happened anywhere in the world had the victim been an English speaker. Would any English speaker have had trouble like this finding help? It is a moot point, because it is rarely an issue to find someone with at least rudimentary English. Personally I believe the RCMP had to have been overzealous. There is no reason, 'personal risk' aside, why three officers could not have subdued a single individual, and other options could certainly have been attempted within the two minutes of Mr. Dziekanski's summary sentence. Also, how was it that Mrs. Dziekanski's was told that her son was not in the airport? Definitively enough for her to return to Kamloops? Those of you who profess to agree with the mounties for having taken such drastic actions must never have been in an environment where you were unable to secure help from an English speaker, because if you had been, after ten hours in bureaucratic limbo, I have no doubt you would have been just as agitated as poor Mr. Dziekanski. Shame on you for your ignorance, and shame on the RCMP for their ruthlessness. Someone should pay for this injustice, but I doubt anyone will, what with media blackouts and laughable 'internal investigations'.

Posted October 27, 2007 12:01 AM

YVR should ask for a comprehensive review of its grounds and its practices, beginning with information flow. YVR is a cold information coherence environment, which anyone should be able to discover just by a walk through while asking questions. YVR should ask the Halo 3 people how they would design an optimum system of information plasticity for the entire airport. CSIS agents with international experience should conduct their own project so that their work could be compared with that of the Halo 3 group. Joint Task Force Two members who have been in Afghanistan should undertake an analysis of the grounds, and then follow up with a study of the Halo 3 and CSIS work. The federal government should tie SSHRC and SDF grants to BC universities to a rigorous requirement to conduct close examinations of the security and intelligence practices in the province. Why the federal government does not insist on this institutional competence is a mystery. The BC Solicitor General should also encourage better police training, now too mechanistic and unimaginative.

Posted October 26, 2007 09:27 PM

Vancouver's custom agents are the worst in Canada. After a long flight, we are usually glad to be back home. However, whenever we get back, the vancouver custom seems to treat us like criminals, I usually find this in the female agents (they think they're on a power trip). I wouldn't be surpise if the agents were just bullying this person, 10 hours in a restricted area, what a joke. I hope the family sue the hell out of them.

Posted October 26, 2007 09:10 PM

i have witnessed and experienced some very negative events in the Internationalarrivals area of YVR. On one occasion, a man travelling from the Caribbean, and unfamiliar with procedures at the airport, was relentlessly harangued by Customs officials over something he clearly did not understand. The situation was in full view of all arriving passengers, and the official made no effort to be either civil or helpful, continuing to be verbally abusoive and insulting. Ultimately the man, who had been travelling some distance, and was clearly unable to tolerate this kind of treatment, began to return some of the abuse. At this point the official grabbed the man and tried to handcuff him, causing significant escalation of the situation. It finally took four of these stalwart unifirmed customs people to subdue hi, and he was led away under their control. As the situation was developing, the customs people who eventually stepped in were at their posts, chit-chatting away, ignoring other passengers, and paying no attention to what was going on. Needless to say I, and almost everyone else who witnessed this event, was disgusted, not only with their lack of professionalism and clear lack of training or skill in dealing with jet-lagged passengers, but also with their clear lack of humanity and empathy. I contacted the airport authorities, but received no response, and did the same, with the same result, with my MP.

Posted October 26, 2007 08:06 PM

For translation the staff at YVR seem to rely on other staff (one of whom associated with an information desk at international arrivals is said to speak Polish), and also a language line. There seems to be an issue with after hours translation, so the federal and provincial governments should solve any problems, given their large surpluses. It seems that none of the translation arrangements were attempted, including the language line in use for EComm, if EComm was contacted at any point. If the dead man had been trying to communicate information about a potential terrorist incident, he would not have been able to. Such systemic lapses easily compromise safety. If staff were so distracted that they let this develop, I would not have much confidence in their ability to cope with disaster. Intractable problems in education in BC should be solved in major honours high school programs where students would learn real logistics and IT skills. This is not happening. There is too much emphasis in university on mediocrity in political science and sociology, for example. Far more resources should be dedicated to advanced and integrated IT, history, economics, geography, and international relations so as to produce students far quicker on their feet, capable of leadership. We must have full doctorates in Intelligence. (All travel documents should have a clear description of the subject's language capabilities.)

Posted October 26, 2007 07:58 PM

It should only take 2 or 3 officers to take him down and handcuff him. So what if the officers receive a few bruises, they will heal. I do not understand why the officers did not take him down and restrain him.

They have toys they like to use and tasers to them are toys. Having to taser him 2 times is more than enough to know that tasers do not work properly.

What most likely happened was this - The officers had him restrained and he kept yelling. So the officers decided to zap him again, after making fun of him or taunting him. The officers could not restrain him after the first taser? Give me a break, send them to the gym if they are that weak.

I am a person who does not look like a "Normal White Canadian" I have experienced many problems with airports.

Posted October 26, 2007 06:07 PM

I can only comment on my experience at YVR which was quite negative. My luggage was missing from a flight between Toronto and Whitehorse. I asked a number of airline personnel for help, with no result and then went to airport security for assistance. They said that as I had already spoken with the airline personnel,that I was just causing trouble and if I didn't stop bothering people they would call the RCMP.

I am quite polite and well spoken but do have long hair and a beard. I can only assume that was the reason for my treatment. I finally did find someone to track down my luggage after about 3 hours. It had not been put on the conveyor system to the carousel.

This is minor compared to what has happened to some but indicative of the generally unhelpful attitude of the YVR staff.

My heart goes out to the poor woman who has needlessly lost a son because of the severely dysfunctional system operating at this airport.

Posted October 26, 2007 04:16 PM

For all those passing judgement, I wonder if they are emailing from the safe confines of their home or office or a coffee shop? Considering riding along with a police officer for a weekend, or stroll through the same downtown neighbourhoods the beat cops patrol. I suspect when you are faced with bodily harm, or death your opinions about using a Taser versus engaging in physical confrontation may change.

Oh, and then ask your spouse or family how they feel about you placing your life in harms way on daily basis to serve the people who pass judgement so easily.

Posted October 26, 2007 03:17 PM

I think we all agree this is an accidental death. I think we all agree the airports need to be protected and RCMP are extensively trained professionals. It was an unfortunate incident but what would be the result of disarming our national police? Whilst in Paris recently I was surprised to see national guards armed to the teeth with machine guns patrolling train stations, museums and airports. I wonder what would have happened if I had acted violently in the presence of these fellows - whatever the ultimate justification of my erratic behavior? At the end of the day, this fellow wasn't shot. He was subdued with a device that, in this instance, had unfortunate result. What would you propose our NATIONAL POLICE be equipped with in the very difficult job of protecting us and our country?

Posted October 26, 2007 02:43 PM

I suppose that I've been fortunate in that I've never had occasion to raise my voice in the terminal area (no pun intended).

Posted October 26, 2007 02:39 PM

It makes no difference that the dead man didn't speak English. Anyone that would arrive in another country and start throwing airport equipment against the wall is begging for the worst kind of trouble..and that idiot found it.

Posted October 26, 2007 02:29 PM

I think they should take those Tasers away from the police. Whenever you start using electrical current on people you are playing "Russian Roulette" with their lives. I was in a volunteer Fire Dept. for over 10 years and we had lectures given by Hydro members on how little electricity it takes to change the heart rhytmn or even stop it. I know the "Manufacturer" claims different but he is playing the "percentage game" --I believe every citizen has the right to live (as well as the police do)and if a person is "drunk" or "agitated", -having "mental" difficulties they should never be put in harms way by those who are hired to "Serve & Protect"--Three trained police officers should have been able to take that fellow down & handcuff him. Keep the guns & Tasers holstered unless the opponent has a gun. If they are armed with a knife-club or whatever consider using a net--two persons with a piece of 15'X 7' fishnet could rush & encircle an armed person--It works on an aggressive dog--why not a man

Posted October 26, 2007 02:28 PM

Cindy, Dunkley "is" from another planet. Putting the wrong tools in the wrong hands revealed YVR's incompetence when dealing with non-Canadians. Oh, and btw Dunkley, through is spelled "threw" in your context.

Posted October 26, 2007 02:06 PM

My many trips through YVR have been great, security officers and other personnel are a pleasure to deal with compared to the major US hubs.

Security force at YVR seem to have acted within reason.
Firearms: excessive, death probable.
Physical intervention and restraint: A physical struggle would have put both the security personnel and the individual at risk. death possible in rare cases, as proven by incidents involving police and choke holds.
Pepper Spray: Used in an enclosed area with large amount of bystanders would have been a major incident affecting many innocent people.
Stun Gun: Immobilizes the individual, maintains a safe distance for the security personnel, and will not effect bystanders. Death possible in rare cases.

My deepest regrets to the family, but I cannot lay blame for this incident on the security personnel.

Posted October 26, 2007 02:03 PM

What we have to remember is that we speak English, there is not a single one of us who could not be plunked down in over 95% of teh worlds airports and find someone who at least speaks broken English, to try and help us. Lets take Poland for example I went there last year and was able to get through the airport with no problem, to meet my party, I don't speak polish. So I guess b/c we speak english we are better then everyone?

There are a lot of errors that occured in this situation, a lot of mistakes that even brought it to the point that this man was loosing it and had to be tasered.

He was a legal immagrant, why when his travel was set up was his family not given advice on step he needed to take to ensure he knew what to do, why also did his family not look into this. I understand that it is tought to find someone at the airport, but had the man been given an itinerary from his mother that listed where to go, that informed him to identify his need for aid when he left Poland, maybe this could have been avoided.

But the other issue, the taser use, Police who I respect and understand they have a hard job, also have to realize THEY HAVE A HARD JOB!!! so rather then panicing the moment anything begins and needing to reach for a gun or taser, they need to remember how to do their job. I remember a comedian saying that every time he hears someone say "you don't know how hard it is to be a cop" he thinks yes I do that is why I didn't become one. Police need to learn to only use tasers when they have to, and they did not need to do this in this instance.

I'm also tired of them developing stupid defences, it's hitting a point when they'll shoot someone for "excessive sugar rush withdrawl tiredness frustration"

Posted October 26, 2007 01:55 PM

To Lex P:

Are you from another planet? Immigrants built our country. It is irrelavant whether they speak English or not. Canada is known for embracing different cultures. It is pathetic to suggest that they either have to speak French or English. You should really be giving your head a shake!

To Mark Dunkley:

Think before making comments such as "having no sympathy for such erratic behaviour" what if it was a relative of yours who couldn't speak English and is lost in the airport for 12 freaking hours? would you still have no sympathy??

Posted October 26, 2007 01:19 PM

From www.cbc.ca/bc's current front page:

"Test results show Robert Dziekanski had no drugs or alcohol in his system when he died minutes after police subdued him with a Taser on Oct. 13, his family's lawyer said Friday."

In light of this news, is anyone still buying the police's fabricated excuse of "excited delirium"?

Luyen Dao and James from Vancouver - I wholeheartedly agree with the both of you; rarely if ever is a situation black or white, such that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach as immediately and reflexively choosing the taser is permissible.
I tire of the old rote excuses of 'he/she should have known better than to act that way' or 'he/she broke the rules and was punished accordingly.' Another favourite of mine: 'that would never happen to me because I don't look/act suspicious' - how are the police or any security personnel to know that for sure about you at first glance? What one may think is looking or acting 'suspicious' is likely not the same as what a trained officer may think.
What if the grieving family members of the dead were our own friends, relatives or neighbours? Would anyone still think (and have the nerve to say so out loud) that a police response resulting in an individual's death is justifiable and necessary to protect this nebulous concept of 'the general public'?
For god's sake, people are routinely being killed by these devices wielded by those charged to protect us! Why do we roll over and allow this to continue?

Posted October 26, 2007 12:53 PM

I found it difficult to find information at YVR the last time I was picking up a loved one. Another friend arriving at the same time had told me that she had seen him in the customs line, but hours after she had emerged, he had still not arrived. Trying to find out where he was or what was going on was very difficult. Nobody could tell me where he was in person, and directed to me to this one phone at the end of a long hall, which all the people with "missing loved ones" have to use to call for info. Oh, and nobody answers the phone.
This was not very good.

I feel for this poor man and his family. Are we so paranoid that we have to taser anyone acting outside the norm? This reminds me of that man in the US shot dead on a plane when he had an outburst, later shown to be due to a mental condition. Is it dangerous for the mentally ill to travel through Canada's airports now?

Posted October 26, 2007 12:39 PM

Re: Mark Dunkley

Do you really expect the punishment for acting irrationally should be death?

What if the person had a mental illness? Does that change how the police respond to this individual?

Post 9/11 means squat. I don't care what environment you're in, you do not deserve to die because some over-zealous cop decides to shock you.

Posted October 26, 2007 12:19 PM

One lesson we learn from this sad episode, is that we should not allow anyone to immigrate to Canada without a tested ability to speak one of our two offical languages.

Posted October 26, 2007 12:08 PM

Vancouver has one of the nicest airports I've ever experienced in my all my global travels.

I do not understand why someone would fight with the authorities. I think they were perfectly justified in tasering the individual. If I went to a foreign country, and through a tantrum at an airport post 9-11, I would expect to be subdued. What would happen in this situation if it were a US airport? Would there be such a tolerance?

Why have we latched on to this story? Does the general public have a history of throwing tantrum's in secure areas at airports around the world and getting away with it? Give your head a shake people.

I have sympathy for the loss of life. I have no sympathy for his erratic behaviour.

Posted October 26, 2007 12:05 PM

By and large, i think everyone at YVR does a good job, keeping in mind it receives volumes and volumes of people every single day, i really think when it comes to security, after 9/11 however, there seems to be less of inclination to try diplomacy and parlay. Whatever happened to being patient and talking someone down, learning more about the situation before whipping out a taser or a gun?

It seems that there are more and more reported cases of security people (not just police), resorting to force before trying to diffuse the situation. It seems the assessment of a person's danger level has become disproportionate with the level of force used.

Posted October 26, 2007 11:39 AM

A couple years ago I had a very bad experience coming back from a trip to Mexico City. I'm a single 30something professional. I went to Mexico City on vacation, and traveled alone. I met a couple friends there from other countries who decided to go at the same time. The customs agent singled me out at the baggage claim area and said it was a random check and asked me to come with him. He proceeded to interrogate me for almost an hour, and go through every single item in my luggage. He asked me very detailed, personal and sometimes demeaning questions about what I was doing in Mexico City and who I met there and why. He swabbed every item in my suitcase (even toothpaste). I was made to feel like a criminal solely on the basis that I was traveling alone. Fortunately I speak english. I can't imagine how a foreigner who can't speak english, would get treated under similar circumstances.

In this case it is clear the man was tired from the very long flight, and probably distraught that he didn't know how to get out of the airport to meet his mom who he thought by now had left. I can't believe he was in that area for so many hours without someone noticing and offering to help. How he could just get "lost" for 12 hours? If he got help earlier he probably wouldn't have been so upset, and officers wouldn't see him as a threat, and he would still be alive.

Posted October 25, 2007 11:45 PM

Frightening incompetence seems to be well within the comfort zone in BC. It is perhaps even mandatory. How could any province be so indifferent to a genuine system such as PowerPhone as the core province-wide 911 IT to replace all the foolish ones such as CREST 911 in Victoria? How could YVR visibly remain one of the easiest targets in the entire world for fuel truck terrorists? How could Margaret Purdy, visiting scholar at UBC with experience related to the RCMP, CSIS, and Transport Canada, have been so totally unable to discuss the Air-India judgment? How can UBC still be in a muddle about this case? How can Canada have failed to develop a single useful PhD program in Intelligence? How is it possible that Canadian reporters can be so inept in dealing with homeland security? We could start by requiring the Americans to hand over some UAVs, Reapers, for border and coastline surveillance in BC, if they want our water and energy resources, but it will never happen. Absolute mediocrity is the national goal. It must be attained at all costs. What we should do is hand over everything we own to the USA for nothing in return. We should remain at war while taking no intelligent measures to defend the airports or cities of Canada. Isn't that the Hillier prescription? When we have to face IEDs in Canada, then Hillier may wake up. Reluctantly.

Posted October 25, 2007 09:40 PM

Never had problem at YVR, traveling when the airport is not busy and the like. Staff have been kind and helped out when trying to find things.

Posted October 25, 2007 08:29 PM