Just a couple of points to throw out there:
You don't have a right to counsel upon examination by a border agent in Canada. When the guy in the booth is asking you your name and where you are going, you can't ask for a lawyer. Well, you can but it won't get you anywhere. Your right to counsel only arises upon being detained and courts have said that at a border crossing (or airport in this case) there is a justifiable reason for asking all these questions and holding you up (a de facto detention). But when the cuffs go on and you are hauled to remand, yeah you do have a right to counsel and Immigration will afford you an opportunity to call a representative of your government. That's the check box thingy the article refers to.
Being stripped naked and having a cold shower all happened at remand. There are no proper jail facilities at the Calgary Airport to hold prisoners or other people in detention. Where does everyone go when they are arrested and being held? Hell... err I mean Remand. Same thing basically. That place really sucks but the treatment Hamilton may have got there can't be blamed on Immigration or Customs.
Unless you are a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident of Canada, Treaty Indian or some limited form of protected person you do not have a right to enter Canada. And even if you do fall into one of those categories above you are still obligated to answer questions honestly and not withhold information. In the case of someone not in one of those categories, entering Canada is a privilege and it is up to you to satisfy the border officers that you are not inadmissible.
Put yourself in the shoes of the officer in question here. You are charged with, among other things, protecting the safety and security of Canada by preventing people from entering the country who shouldn't be here (ie terrorists, criminals, people who are going to be a burden to the health care or welfare system, etc). Someone comes up to you after a long overseas flight and tells you he's going to be staying at the Super8 a few blocks from the airport. Why are you here? Just visiting. Who are you visiting? My friends. Who are your friends? Todd and Jeff. Who are they? Just some friends. What are their last names? I don't know. What do they do? They work at the Super8. How do you know them? I met them on the phone while I was booking the hotel. How long are you staying? I don't know. What are you going to be doing here? Just visiting. How long are you going to stay here? I don't know, maybe 6 months. How will you support yourself? I have a couple hundred pounds... and so forth.
I made some of that up but believe me that is kind of typical. Would you feel confident enough in those answers to place your stamp (tracable to YOU) in that person's passport and grant him admission to Canada? What if this person turns up in a hospital somewhere needing a ton of medical treatment and has no insurance? Or does something illegal in Canada or collects welfare or is involved in some terrorist plot? I'm not saying any of this was or wasn't the case here but if someone is giving answers above and changing their story, can you really blame Immigration and Customs officials for not granting the guy admission? All that other stuff about lawyers and remand flows from the less than persuassive answers. Just my thoughts.
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