Entries Tagged 'Uncategorized' ↓

So far, we have said much about the need for Canadians with a criminal record to get a US travel waiver before travelling to the USA. The rules in this regard are firm and are strictly enforced. This begs the question of whether this situation is unique for the United States, or if Canada reciprocates in the case of American (and other foreign) ex-cons who want to come over here. The answer is that while Canada’s rules are slightly more lenient, convicted foreigners are also at a significant disadvantage when attempting to travel here.
The equivalent rule that applies in Canada is that a foreigner can be turned away at the border if they have committed (or if border guards have reasonable grounds to believe that they will commit) a crime. If the crime was committed in Canada, a Canadian pardon, granted as usual by the Parole Board of Canada, will remove travel ineligibility. If the traveller committed the crime outside Canada, they will be admissible to Canada after being rehabilitated. This can be done in two ways:
• By applying for rehabilitation (similar to a US entry waiver) at a Canadian consular office or port of entry. You typically become eligible for this after 5 years have passed since the completion of your sentence or, depending on the crime, since you committed it. Sometimes, special permission can be given to travel to Canada.

• If at least 10 years have passed since your sentence was completed (or since the actual commission of the offence, in the case of offences that would be punishable by less than 10 years in Canada), you may be automatically deemed rehabilitated. If the offences were equivalent to two or more Canadian summary offences (having committed only one may not be a barrier to travel), you could be considered rehabilitated after at least five years have passed from when the sentence ended. However, there is no guarantee that such a person would automatically be considered rehabilitated.

As is the case with American border guards, those in Canada may have access to information collected by the Department of Public Safety (our equivalent of the US Department of Homeland Security), so it is not worth trying your luck and attempting to cross when ineligible.

Apparently, “homeland security” is fast becoming a global issue and borders are not as open as they used to be, all the more reason to make every effort to have past convictions expunged.

Caroline Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Parole Board of Canada, has announced in an interview that they will be making some changes because of Bill C-23. These changes are necessary, as the new legislation calls for more due diligence in the pardons process.

The changes outlined by Douglas in the interview:

• The process will be lengthier.
• Senior pardon officers may need to access psychological tools to analyze the conduct, the nature, the gravity and duration of the offence before determining whether to recommend suspension of a record in some situations.
• The Parole Board of Canada has entered into new, information-sharing arrangements with Interpol, the Canada Border Services Agency and Citizenship and Immigration.
• People in the Board known as “pardon officers” will be given data mining courses that will teach them how to glean information from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. “We will examine these involvements in such social networks to help us understand and explain [pardon applicants'] behavior and attitudes individually and within a network of members, and to make sure they are law-abiding citizens before going ahead with a recommendation to grant an applicant with a pardon.” (Quote taken from internal notes made within the Parole Board of Canada)
•  Although the Board recently increased pardons fees from $50 to $150, they are looking at making further increases in the cost. “The $150 certainly is going to help, but it’s not going to cover all of the costs involved with running the program.” (Caroline Douglas)