Chocolate alert

Maybe the problem is that it’s boring being a border official.

Sure, every once in a while a criminal is dumb enough to try to cross in a stolen car with bags of white powder on the front seat. And occasionally, the fellow rolling up to the port-of-entry is from Belarus or Thailand, and offers the prospect of fishing out some rarely used forms.

But for the most part, customs officers must have to play the licence-plate game with the guy in the next hut or deliberately mispronounce names for kicks and giggles. What other reason could there be for the crew at the main crossing south of Vancouver to go to battle stations over six Kinder Surprise treats?

The confections were being carried by a Canadian couple unaware they’ve been declared candy non grata because they contain a toy small enough to choke a child.

Of course, the U.S. like any country has a right to identify and prohibit any good it considers dangerous. We have our own rules, and expect our border people to enforce them.

But couldn’t this particular incident have been resolved without threats of $2,500 fines per egg and a two-hour wait? Maybe guards and travellers could have each eaten an egg and then all the little toys could have been left at the crossing to keep the officers amused during breaks in the flow of traffic.