please help me find an article re: american tourists refused entry to canada

[crikkett]

I read an article here in DU about two weeks ago, that reported how Americans being turned away at the Canadian border, because they had lame criminal histories. The Canadian border guards were checking ID vs. a new database. Folks are being turned back at airports and other border crossings.

For things like...

an arrest 20 years ago,
carrying a med. marijuana card.


It was reported that the Canadians were unsympathetic.


Anyway I wanted to show this to a friend. My searches are coming up with interesting but irrelevant stuff. I could have sworn I saved the article but can't find it on my desk either.

Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks
C

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. Anyone with a DUI conviction better be careful.

I don't think our neighbors to the North look too kindly on those either.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. It has been this way for decades, at least

Canada denies entry to anyone with a felony conviction, as defined by Canadian law and regardless of how long ago it was. Driving while intoxicated is a felony in Canada, so anyone with a DUI conviction is breaking Canadian law if they enter the country; it does not matter if the American conviction was a misdemeanor. The United States -- most western countries, in fact -- have similar restrictions.

[meldroc]

3. I remember hearing this.

Just a DUI will get you turned back at the border these days. :eyes:

If you got your DUI more than ten years ago, you can apply for special permission to enter if you jump through a bunch of hoops at the Canadian consulate.

[Breeze54]

4. Here it is....

Going To Canada? Maybe Not

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/2/26/163518/766

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Mon Feb 26, 2007 at 03:35:18 PM EST
Tags: Canada, immigration (all tags)

American tourists with old misdemeanor records are being turned away
at the Canadian border -- after a stop at secondary immigration checks.


-----------------------------


Going to Canada? Check your past
Tourists with minor criminal records turned back at border

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/23/MNGCAO9NSB1.DTL

C.W. Nevius

Friday, February 23, 2007

[sharp_stick]

5. I've heard nothing about that

On edit: I see someone has posted evidence that misdemeanor convictions are being used. I stand corrected.

The Canadian border guards have been having issues with the Government over pay and other compensation for the last several years and have run rolling "work to rule" campaigns that really slow you down at the border if you're unlucky enough to be caught in it.

Are they checking old, more or less irrelevant arrest records? I would kind of doubt it. We can't get our security databases to talk to each other over local arrest records that have cleared the court system. I'd be very interested to see that a foreign system does a better job of it. That doesn't mean it's not possible, but I'd say it's kind of unlikely.

As for the Canadians being unsympathetic I really don't see why they should be. Hell our border guards can be some of the most unsympathetic around. They have been known to turn away people because they got the wrong stamp on their VISA at an American Consulate overseas or they were worried that the passport was going to expire in 5 months and they want it to stay valid for at least 6.

[Breeze54]

6. The US and Canada are sharing data -

From the SFG article posted above:

While Canada officially has barred travelers convicted of criminal
offenses for years, attorneys say post-9/11 information-gathering, combined with a
sweeping agreement between Canada and the United States to share data, has
resulted in a spike in phone calls from concerned travelers.

In the wake of 9/11, Canada and the United States formed a partnership that has
dramatically increased what Lesperance calls "the data mining'' system at the border.

The Smart Border Action Plan, as it is known, combines Canadian intelligence with
extensive U.S. Homeland Security information.
The partnership began in 2002, but it wasn't until recently that the system was refined.

[crikkett]

7. what creeps me out is that folks with pot cards are in databases

that info was supposed to be private.

I have always thought that those things were big fat target signs.

(I don't have one, but I voted for the 1996 CA referendum.)

"My grandmother is not a criminal"