U.S. border measures irk Yukon writer

The Yukon's Writer in Residence says he's refusing to travel to the United States because of controversial new border security measures.

The U.S. is demanding registration from Canadians born in several Middle East and North African countries.

Despite official protests from Ottawa, these citizens face interrogation, photographing and fingerprinting.

Ven Begamudre was born in India and recently celebrated his 40th anniversary in Canada. The Writer in Residence usually makes frequent trips to the U.S. But even though he's not from one of the countries on the list, he won't set foot in the U.S. right now.

"If somebody asked me for my fingerprints just because they didn't like the way I looked, at that point I wouldn't willingly give my fingerprints. And of course they would say, well if you won't give your fingerprints then you can't come in," he says. "They're losing face. They're losing goodwill and sooner or later that's when they'll wake up. They're going to lose money."

Begamudre says the worst part of the new American policy is the arbitrary way it can be applied.