Canada may bar you for old DUI

By Ed Perkins
Tribune Media Services
Published March 18, 2007

If you've ever had a DUI conviction or been convicted of certain other offenses -- even minor ones -- you may not be welcome in Canada. No matter that your conviction was a youthful indiscretion, committed many years ago; it may still be enough to bar you.

With the new U.S.-Canadian agreements, border officials are able to search your background info much more easily than before. And this may be just the beginning. Before long, "data mining" examinations for past misdeeds are likely to spread to other countries.

C.W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle tipped me off to this story. He had recently interviewed some American travelers who had tried to fly to Canada, only to be refused admission at the Vancouver airport and put on planes back to the U.S. Canadian border agents classed them as "inadmissible," according to government standards. You can see the entire column on www.sfgate.com (use the search tool and enter Nevius).

What makes a potential visitor to Canada unwelcome? Here's how Canada defines "inadmissible," as taken directly from the Canadian Embassy's official Web site (geo.interna tional.gc.ca/can-am/washing ton/visas/inadmissible-en .asp):

"Members of Inadmissible Classes include those who have been convicted of MINOR OFFENCES (including shoplifting, theft, assault, dangerous driving, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of illegal substances, etc.), or of INDICTABLE CRIMINAL OF- FENCES (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.). As well, those who have been convicted of DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) are considered Members of an Inadmissible Class. Driving while under the influence of alcohol is regarded as an extremely serious offence in Canada.

"Those who have received TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS (including parking/speeding tickets, etc.) and other minor violations (i.e. littering, etc.) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada. Similarly, those who have JUVENILE CONVICTIONS (convictions for crimes committed while under age 18) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada unless they could have been tried as an adult for their offences."

The Canadian classifications for inadmissible visitors aren't new. What's new is the ability of Canadian border agents to screen -- instantly -- the records of those visitors. Basically, border agents can now pull up the same sort of information a police officer can pull up if you're subject to arrest.

The Canadians are willing to grant exceptions, but you have to ask in advance. The material from the Embassy Web site continues:

"Those who have been convicted of an offence OUTSIDE CANADA, and have had 5 years elapse since the termination of the custodial portion (if any) of the sentence imposed (not the sentence served), may apply for a Minister's APPROVAL OF REHABILITATION. The Minister's Approval will permanently remove the inadmissibility caused by conviction."

You can apply for an Approval of Rehabilitation at Canadian visa offices in Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York or Seattle.

For now, the most stringent screening seems to be on travelers who fly to Canada. Although you have to show acceptable ID when you drive across the border, I saw no evidence of any data mining on my most recent trips.

And I don't know how many of the visitors by air actually get background checks. But you can't count on avoiding a data search, even when you enter by car. A border agent always has the right to check.

This is tough stuff. I have no idea how many typical U.S. adults may have had a DUI, shoplifting or drug possession charge sometime in their distant past, but the number has to be in the millions. What I do know is that you don't want to make arrangements for a vacation in Canada, only to be refused admission and returned home.

So if you have any of the listed "inadmissible" convictions on your record, either apply for the "Minister's Approval of Rehabilitation" or go somewhere else. And before you go somewhere else, check to see if it has started to check your past record when you enter.
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