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By the time Ignac Nick Hozjan arrived in Toronto on Sept. 21, 2018, from the Philippines with his wife and baby, he knew what the airport drill would be.

For the 14th consecutive time, he’d be pulled into secondary screening by Canada Border Services Agency officers and his belongings would be searched. What they’d find: handwritten messages like “CBSA are bullies and a--holes.”

On this occasion, Hozjan had added something new for the officers searching his bag: a specially-purchased seven-inch, flesh-coloured dildo, adorned with a message dedicated to the officer who kicked off Hozjan’s one-man crusade against the “tyranny” of the CBSA.

It’s a journey that has, so far, included allegations of arbitrary and invasive searches by CBSA officers, criminal charges Hozjan says were laid to intimidate, and of a constitutional complaint over nearly almost five hours in custody.

Hozjan’s fight with Canada’s border agency began a year prior with an airport dispute over the equivalent of about $10,000 in cash he’d been carrying — $8,630 in U.S. dollars and $245 Canadian, to be exact. To the CBSA, using the Bank of Canada exchange rate, that amount worked out to a total value of $10,500 Canadian — $500 over the maximum limit. The entire amount would have to be seized.

To Hozjan, 60, using that rate was absurd. If he’d exchanged the U.S. dollars at the Pearson airport money exchange location on arrival it would have come out to several hundred less than $10,000, he said, adding that he also showed the officer his online banking statement showing that he’d withdrawn the money from his own bank account.

Eventually, he asked why the officer was being such an “a--hole.”

It was after this, Hozjan said during his criminal case in an application alleging his charter rights had been violated, that the officer went to check the police database to see if he had a criminal record — he does not — and performed a two-hour search of his belongings and his phone. Hozjan said the officer spent almost five minutes looking through the photographs on his phone, including some intimate images of Hozjan and his wife.

“I felt so embarrassed. I felt so violated,” Hozjan said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before in my life.”

Hozjan alleges in a court application that as the officer leered at the images, he asked why he didn’t bring his “beautiful Filipina wife” back to Canada.

In the end, Hozjan was told he could pay a $250 fine and the currency would be returned, which he did.

“Have a good evening and I’ll see you over here for the next six years,” he said the officer said.

Hozjan would later discover that he had been put on a list that would lead to him being pulled for screening every single time he crossed the border. He filed a complaint, but it was rejected. He also made multiple increasingly irate and unsuccessful attempts to complain directly to senior CBSA officials including agency head John Ossowski.

So Hozjan, an early retired Toronto mortgage broker, decided to engage in what his lawyer Christopher Murphy described in court as “civil disobedience.”

In addition to the paper messages left in his bags, he’d wear a white T-shirt emblazoned with the message: “CBSA officers are the enemy of the Canadian people/CBSA terrorizes Canadians.” Once, driving back from the U.S., he plastered the messages on the windows of his car as he was pulled into secondary screening.

By the time of his September 2018 return through Pearson, he had not only added the dildo but also taped 1.2 million in Indonesian rupiah — about $100 Canadian, and well under the $10,000 limit — around his penis.

Also new this time: Hozjan finding himself held in a cell for five hours facing criminal charges, a lengthy court battle and the prospect of jail time.

His nine-day trial was scheduled to begin earlier this month in a Brampton courtroom, but folded suddenly one week before it began.

“I am who I am,” Hozjan said in an interview after the charges were stayed. “I’m principled on some things. Sometimes I suffer for it, but it’s for a purpose.”

A spokesperson for the CBSA said the agency has no comment on the decision to stay the charges.

Though Hozjan provided permission for the CBSA to respond to questions about his case, the CBSA response did not address whether the initial search of Hozjan’s phone and belongings was warranted or conducted appropriately.

“Personal digital devices may be only be examined if there are compelling indications that evidence of a contravention of border legislation will be found,” the spokesperson said. “CBSA officers are trained to conduct all border examinations in a professional manner with respect for privacy.”

The CBSA response also did not address Hozjan’s allegations that he was unfairly subjected to searches that had nothing to do with a currency infraction, or why he was sent to secondary screening every time he crossed the border.

“When an individual with a previous infraction record crosses the border, they may be subject to more frequent and detailed examinations,” a spokesperson said. “This is to ensure that the traveller is complying with border requirements.”

Hozjan and his family arrived at Pearson airport around 7 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2018. Hozjan’s wife had her customs form accepted at a machine but Hozjan’s form was rejected twice and they had to line up to speak to a CBSA officer.

Hozjan said another CBSA officer surprised him by approaching them while in the line and saying: “I saw you staring at me, do you have a problem with me?” That officer had recognized Hozjan from previous interactions, according to the Crown.

In response, Hozjan said: “How the f--- do these guys get away with this behaviour” and unzipped his jacket revealing his T-shirt’s commentary on the CBSA.

A CBSA supervisor began questioning him. In response to a question about whether he had any drugs on him, Hozjan pulled out a small bag with a white powder and said: “it might or might not be drugs.” He then opened the bag and tasted it — it was baking soda for his acid reflux — and explained what it was.

Hozjan was arrested for importing a narcotic and hindering an officer. Half an hour later, he was told the white powder was tested and found not to be a narcotic but he would still be charged with hindering an officer.

In his application alleging his constitutional rights were violated, Hozjan argues he could have been released at that moment with a future court date. Instead, he was held for another four-and-a-half hours while his wife and baby waited, which he alleges is part of a pattern of intimidation by the CBSA.

“The CBSA detained (Hozjan) for the purpose of punishing him for what the CBSA wrongfully believed was the disrespect shown to the CBSA by (Hozjan) on each of his re-entries into Canada,” the application argued. “Rather than showing disrespect … (Hozjan) was simply making it known that in (his) opinion the CBSA was abusing their authority and that the CBSA should be required to answer to a third-party oversight committee.”

Hozjan denied ever being violent or threatening to any CBSA officer, and said he was falsely described as violent twice, claims he said would be disproved by looking at the CCTV footage of the interactions.

In their reply to the charter application, the Crown argued Hozjan was held because a criminal investigation needed to be completed and two CBSA investigators on standby needed to be called in, which took about three hours. The Crown also said Hozjan repeatedly answered questions by saying “no comprende.”

The Crown denied there was any “ill will or animus” towards Hozjan that led to him being detained for the five hours, and said that his rights were respected, despite Hozjan “taunting” officers.

A spokesperson for the CBSA said his case “followed the standard process for individuals who are accused of committing criminal offences at a CBSA Port of Entry.”

No reasons were given in court earlier this month for why the charges against Hozjan were suddenly stayed.

“It’s been Hozjan’s position all along that he committed no offence, he was exercising his right to freedom of expression, it was an act of civil disobedience to bring attention to what he believed was bullying behaviour by certain members of the CBSA,” Murphy said during the brief Zoom hearing.

“Mr. Hozjan has been facing these charges for nearly three years and I thank my friend for staying the proceedings but in all the circumstances in this case your honour I submit that this matter went on much longer than it should have.”

“Mr. Hozjan I wish you all the best luck in the future,” said federal prosecutor Robert Morin.

In an interview, Murphy said the charges were likely stayed because of late document disclosure issues uncovered by Hozjan, including that investigator notes they had requested and were told did not exist actually were available and opened the door to more questions about whether the investigation was driven by CBSA animus towards Hozjan.

“Sometimes you have to stick up to a bully. And that is what Mr. Hozjan did,” Murphy said.

Hozjan said he had been looking forward to his day in court but his wife, in particular, is happy that he no longer faces the risk of jail time.

He maintains he is not “anti-authority” and says his actions were motivated, in part, because there so many others, particularly those who are not citizens, are not in a position to challenge the CBSA.

“I will admit I’m a bit of a non-conformist when it comes to rebelling and letting people know when it comes to authorities’ misdeeds,” he said. “It’s humorous too, really.”

He has travelled since the arrest, before the start of the pandemic. He said he was still pulled into secondary screening but was only asked about currency and his bags were not searched — a change he thinks comes from the new scrutiny the charges brought to his file.

What is next is a lawsuit, Hozjan said, but it’s not about the money — after his legal costs are covered he would give the rest to anti-bullying charities. What he really wants, he says, is for the currency infraction to be recognized as unfair, to be taken off the secondary screening list, for the exchange rate policy to change, and for there to be independent civilian oversight of the CBSA.

He is also still hoping for a meeting with the head of the CBSA to discuss all of this. Though in the past Hozjan has repeatedly called for Ossowski to be fired, he hopes they can now have a constructive conversation.

“Right now, it just makes for a terrible, terrible experience,” he said.

In response to a question about whether that meeting would be possible, a CBSA spokesperson said the agency welcomes comments, recognition and complaints online.

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