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At the labour relations board hearing, Merrill testified that Stewart brought his wife, an Elton John fan, to the CBSA office on the day in question.

Merrill said he boarded the star’s private jet with Stewart, who conducted the primary examination of the plane and its six passengers. Merrill checked their passports then walked down the stairs to the tarmac.

Stewart, he said, remained onboard talking with John’s personal assistant. When the assistant stepped off the plane, he asked Merrill if he “would like tickets to the concert as well.” Merrill declined. The assistant, Merrill said, then offered his phone number and told the border guards to call him if they wanted to go to that night’s show in Lethbridge.

The concert had sold out within an hour and floor tickets were going for as much as $500 on the resale market.

Merrill testified that Stewart went into the CBSA office and called a supervisor, Darren Lynch, to ask if he could accept the concert offer. Lynch told him not to accept the tickets, which is the same advice he had received days earlier from senior superintendent Doug Bakke, whom Stewart had approached about what to do if offered tickets during the clearance process.

Nonetheless, Stewart tried to call the assistant’s number. When that didn’t work — it had been copied incorrectly — he went to the arena box office, identified himself as a CBSA officer, and asked to pick up his complimentary tickets. No tickets had been left at the window. The event manager was called, Elton John’s assistant confirmed the offer, and two second row tickets were handed to Stewart and his wife.