06-14-12
The Canadian government has closed a loophole that could have allowed someone with a minor child pornography conviction to enter Canada under an initiative aimed at facilitating American hunters to cross the border to spend their tourist dollars. There is however no evidence that anybody with a child pornography conviction has entered Canada via the policy.
As of this year foreign nationals with a minor misdemeanour conviction have become eligible for a one-time pass to skip the lengthy application process to cross the border into Canada, this as part of the Tourism Facilitation Action Plan. The exemption is available to all foreign nationals coming to Canada by land, air or sea who have a single misdemeanor conviction for which they served no jail time and generally applies to crimes such as drunk driving, public mischief and shoplifting.
The public policy was created to satisfy remote Canadian regions who have seen large numbers of tourists and therefore customers turned away at the Canada-U.S. border due to individuals not realizing an old DUI conviction for example, could deter their entry into Canada. Under the directive, the usual fee for individuals with a minor record of $200 can be waived at the border and a Canada temporary resident permit issued, though this exception is subject to the discretion of Canadian border officers.
Immigration Canada is not waiving the inadmissibility of Americans who have a single minor misdemeanor conviction with no jail time, however they are allowing inadmissibility to be overcome with a temporary resident permits more quickly and less expensively than has previously been the case.
The problem solved here for Canada is specifically for Canadian tourist operators, fishing camps, hunting camps and the like who have lost millions of dollars in business because of people coming from the U.S. Individuals who might have had a single minor DUI offence and who are then told they can’t come into Canada unless they go through a lengthy process for criminal rehabilitation, which has resulted in lost business for Canadian tourism and convention industries.
For more information regarding changes to Canada’s Immigration legislation, please refer back to our news and articles section or follow @FWCanada on twitter.
