- Young . . . Mohawk . . . Woman.
A Canadian Human Rights Tribunal heard Monday that those three adjectives are why Cornwall Island resident Teiohontathe Fallan Davis says her vehicle is often stopped and searched by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Age, race and gender are the basis of Davis' human rights complaint, and also the reasons why she says her SUV was ordered into a secondary customs inspection at the Cornwall port of entry on Nov. 18, 2005.
She even blames the incident for subsequent stress and the loss of her unborn child.
"I think they targeted me," Davis said on day one of the tribunal.
Davis explained that she crosses through customs at least three times each day, and as many as a dozen times on occasion.
Before the customs checkpoint was relocated to the foot of the Seaway International Bridge in Cornwall, Davis used a customs lane designed specifically for residents of Akwesasne.
On the morning in question, at approximately 10:15 a. m., Davis was returning to Akwesasne after taking her daughter to school and a bit of shopping.
Without explanation from the CBSA, she said, her vehicle was directed to an area she'd never been to before, clearly marked as a zone used to X-ray vehicles for search purposes.
RADIATION WARNING
Davis said a sign indicating danger due to radiation "terrified" her because she was pregnant at the time.
Davis -who was sworn in at the tribunal through a native ceremony -testified that CBSA agents asked her if she was carrying contraband cigarettes.
She claims a customs agent asked her, "Do you know what our society thinks of your people?"
Davis said she didn't care what society thought, and then informed the customs agents that they were trespassing on native land.
During the search of Davis' SUV, questions arose over purchased toys and clothing found in the vehicle.
When CBSA agents indicated Davis would have to pay taxes on the items, she told the tribunal she refused, but CBSA didn't press, she testified, and later dropped the issue.
Cold and scared, Davis said she called a family member to let someone know about her whereabouts. That family member called a community elder to check in on Davis' situation. Davis said the arrival of the elder was met with hostility from the guards.
"I was hyperventilating by this point. I couldn't breathe," Davis testified.
Davis estimated the scan and physical search of her SUV took approximately 45 minutes.
When other supporters of Davis arrived, she said she asked them to get the badge numbers of the CBSA agents who dealt with her. Her hands were too "numb" to write she said, but she intended to file a complaint against the CBSA.
Davis alleges the agents were unco-operative in providing their badge numbers, and shrugged off inquiries with the phony response "Badge 1-2-3-4- 5".
Following the incident, Davis told the tribunal she became stressed. She felt as if the CBSA was "watching" and "following" her, even tapping her phone.
"I felt like they took something from me," Davis said of her experience.
Davis attributed the loss of her unborn child to the stress of the Nov. 18 search and the effects of the rays from the CBSA/s X-ray machine. She said she filed medical documentation to support her claims, but could not produce them for the tribunal on its first day. Tribunal chairperson Rejean Belanger allowed Davis to use Monday evening to get the documents in order with the assistance of other legal counsel present at the tribunal.
Davis has no legal counsel of her own, and is being aided by her mother and a community elder. Belanger warned Davis about her lack of organization before he cut Monday's session short to allow her more time. "It's your information," Belanger said to Davis. "It should come from you, not from me."
The CBSA has yet to begin its arguments at the tribunal, which continues for the remainder of the week.