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Comment by colmvp | Hacker News Reader

I tried arguing this persons privacy yet I got highly downvoted on /r/canada, for points that I felt I couldn't refute, specifically that crossing a nations border is not a right but a privilege, and that most Western nations have similar POVs when it comes to the right for border officers to inspect laptops/phones.

I know that the ACLU and EFF have fought to defend Americans from having their laptops/phones inspected at the border, but I believe I read they haven't had much success in the legal system.

I still don't understand the rationale behind being able to inspect someones computer/mobile phone. Even in the case of say, possessing child pornography, I would assume most people are caught by tracked websites than random searches at the border?

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Canadians don't believe in absolute free speech or privacy.

In legal situations, this pops up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace,_order,_and_good_governm...

Don't forget Canada is very homogeneous and they are just as likely to fall victim to "other-ing" and fear mongering.

If you are fitting in, you're ok in Canada. If you arent, well no end of troubles awaits you. Just ask all the queer bookstores that had their shipments endlessly fucked with by the border/customs agents.

Canada isn't quite a liberal nirvana, they just happen to have less crime and single payer healthcare.

In what way is Canada homogeneous? I've never heard anyone say that before. I would think it was much less homogeneous than much of the western world, especially the US. I know Toronto is usually called the most diverse city in the world.

Rights are independent of laws and not subject to geography. We talk about universal rights; the U.S. Declaration of Independence says, for example,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ...

The government may not respect your rights, but you still have them.

Not a defense as I somewhat agree with you, (and yes, it is a privilege not a right): Juggling processing the millions and millions of people coming in and out and doing it quickly and affordably vs utilizing a courts when you need to inspect/assess something seems impossible, for example just between canada and the US alone last year, well over 11 million trucks crossed the border.

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