A Quebec man says he is outraged after the U.S. Coast Guard accused him of fishing in American waters and then arrested him before putting him in a jail cell for nearly two hours.

Edouard Lallemand, 60, said he nearly drowned during the ordeal last Sunday afternoon after the Coast Guard’s boat “pushed” his boat, causing it to capsize.

Days after the incident, he’s still shaken up.

“I’m never going to be the same,” he told CTV News.

Lallemand said he borrowed his friend’s boat and was fishing near Venise-en-Québec, which is roughly 15 kilometres north of the U.S. border at the northern tip of Lake Champlain. He says he has been fishing for decades and is adamant that he was in Canadian waters when the Coast Guard showed up and told him to turn off his engine, to which he complied.

The three officers told him he was in U.S. territory.

“I said, ‘No, I’m very sorry, I’m in Canada.’ And I said I’m polite enough to talk to you guys but you cannot arrest me. ‘You can’t come across the border and pick me up’ but they did,” he recalled.

Lallemand started his engine and said he wanted to talk with the officers by the shore, but the Coast Guard followed and tried to push him into the U.S., which is what caused him to go overboard.

  • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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    2 days ago

    which is roughly 15 kilometres north of the U.S. border

    Coast Guard followed and tried to push him into the U.S

    Wow, that’s a loooooong push.

    If they did kidnap a Canadian citizen the government should definitely put enough force on the border to prevent Coast Guard from crossing into Canada ever again.