A Canadian helicopter operator is on the hook for damage to his Bell 505 he said was caused by a Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) detector dog. A B.C. Supreme Court judge threw out his lawsuit against the government agency on a technicality. There is a strict three-month limit on claiming damages from the border agency, and Lucas Siemens didn’t get his claim in until five months after the alleged incident in November of 2024. He then sued CBSA and according to infonews.com, the basic facts of the case and the dog’s involvement don’t seem to be in dispute based on the judgment.
Siemens testified he flew his daughter to a basketball tournament in Washington State from their hometown of Abbotsford, B.C., which is on the U.S./Canada border. On their return to Abbotsford, the CBSA agents who inspected them ordered a canine search of the cabin. Siemens said they turned the dog loose inside the helicopter and it caused “significant physical damage to the seats, floor, interior panels, windows, and dashboard, including areas where critical wiring and cables are located,” according to the judgment issued by Justice Sandra Sukstorf. Siemens claimed the CBSA dragged out the claim process so the deadline was missed, which the agency denied. It also denied Siemens’s assertion that the border agents assured him the agency would cover the cost of the damage.
Although he didn’t get any money out of the border agency, the judge did give Siemens some relief by not requiring him to pay the CBSA’s legal bills. She said that after the incident he found himself “navigating a complex statutory scheme while seeking to preserve its right to recover for what it believed was genuine damage” and wasn’t given any guidance from the agency on how to make his claim.
3 month limit? I can’t find a good lawyer in that amount of time. So what do you do in cases like this, submit the claim to insurance?
Should the owner have filed a claim with his insurance carrier and let them (with deeper pockets and greater inherent threat) pursue the claim against the Border Agency?
Insurance almost always excludes any governmental actions.
“ I can’t find a good lawyer in that amount of time.”
If you’re looking for a good lawyer because you need one, it’s too late.
Sounds like the typical bullshit that Canadians have to deal with when seeking relief or any accountability from a government that thinks it’s above the law.
What a lousy judge to not protect the little guy. She is just a functionary protecting the bureaucracy. Another subject loses to the Canadian machine.
Judges are sworn to rule on the laws we have, not the laws we wish we had.
With what I just read, this doesn’t pass the smell test but there’s got to be more to the story.
What’s it missing?
Smuggling dog treats