Ijust got back from a week long salmon fishing trip to Canada caught lots of fish and had a great time. I won’t go into the details because this is the hunting forum but what I wanted to let every one know is the problems we had crossing the border into Canada.

We were driving to Canada so when we got to the border the lady at the gate asked for our id We gave them to her. She asked several more questions like where were we from, where are we going etc. She finally asked what we were going to do in Canada and we replied we were going salmon fishing. She asked us where are fishing rods and gear was. We replied that we did not have any because the gear was going to be supplied by the lodge we were staying at. She kind of looked at us funny and told us we would have to go inside for more questions. I guess we were suspicious because of what we did NOT have (fishing equipment). We parked the vehicle and go in to wait in line for about 30 minutes. We finally get to the counter and the lady asks much of the same questions we were already asked and we answer them again. She asks us if anyone has been convicted of a crime. We all answer no except my 25 year old son. He says he had a DUI about five years ago. She asked if he paid a fine and how much. He answered yes he paid a fine of a couple of hundred dollars. The Canadian immigrations official then told my son he was ineligible to visit Canada because he had been convicted of a crime!!! SAY WHAT????? A single misdemeanor conviction and you can not get into Canada??? After “talking” to the Canadian immigrations official for about 45 minutes on this issue here is what we found out. ANY conviction, felony or misdemeanor, in the last 5 years makes you ineligible to visit Canada. They define a conviction if you have paid a fine or been in jail, therefore, even a paid parking ticket could be considered a conviction!! I argued that we have already paid for an expensive fishing trip and driven 1000 miles and are spending a lot of money to visit their county and now can not enter. My pleas must have struck a nerve because she finally told us that if we filled out some more paper work and paid a $200 fee they could grant my son a temporary wavier and he could go fishing. We paid the fee and went on our way.

I am only posting this to let people know one of the pitfalls when you travel to Canada.
Russ

What a hassle. I know it's the same thing with hunting and guns. Canada is off my list of places to spend my money!!!!!!!!!!!

Russ,
The same sort of pitfalls await Canadians attempting to enter the US. What we were always taught was the longest undefended border in the world is far from it.
A friend recently attempted to cross into Montana to drive over a proposed bicycle route for the club he belongs to. Now, this trip is taken by the club in a different location each year and they spend 3 or 4 days staying in motels or B&Bs along the way and spending a good deal of money. They were searched and made to feel like criminals and ultimately denied entry into the US because his father-in-law, who was with them, is a British citizen and didn't have his passport. That's right. An 81 year old citizen of Great Britain, that country that was such an enemy through two world wars, was denied entry probably as a safeguard against terrorism. So it works both ways. The border guards held their drivers licenses until they were turned around and headed out of the country. My friend says the club will never again plan a ride in the U.S.
I'm an American so have no difficulty entering the U.S. but I think we would be a lot better off if we fired those guards and replaced them with greeters like at Wal-Mart! On both sides of the border. Regards, Bill.

As Bill Leeper said, it goes both ways. A few of my friends can't cross into the US because of various misdemeanors on their records (mainly DUI's). This is one of the things Judges around here use to scare juvenile offenders. Most people don't seem to realize that _any_ criminal conviction may affect their ability to travel outside of their country into any other country.

Jay, that is not a very neighborly way to look at it. Please keep in mind that it is every bit as difficult for me to get into your country to hunt. It is a 6+ week waiting period to get a gun permit from your BATF. At least you can just pay $50 at the border and register your guns on the spot to bring them into Canada. And you probably weren't aware of my story earlier this year, but your government wouldn't let me travel through the US with my firearms on the way to a hunt in the RSA. It was impossible for me as a CDN citizen to get the required permit, despite the fact that I legally own the firearms, have no record, and was just passing through the Atlanta airport. Does that seem very fair to you? Should I boycott the US?

Canuck

[ 08-15-2002, 01:12: Message edited by: Canuck ]

mtelk hunter
I'm not going to defend that regulation because I don't agree with it, but the fact is you should have realized you were entering a foreign country and been aware of the laws.

In their view, your son is a criminal, and most countries don't welcome criminals with open arms.

This regulation has been commented on many, many times on these forums.

FWIW, Like Bill said, Canadians have to go through the same BS entering the USA. People I've known with minor charges against them have had to apply for pardons that take 6 mons or more, to get into the US.

And Canadians trying to take a firearm into the US now have a whole new set of fun rules to abide by. I'd go so far as to say it's probably easier for an American to take a gun into Canada than vice verse.

Most of these laws don't catch the bad guys anyway- they are put in place by politicians to make the public think they are doing something other than wasting our money..

Hey Canuck!

Guess you're goofing off at work too, eh!

Sshhh...

Canuck

Yes I hear you. You know you always have to punish the innocent to get the bad guys. Whats wrong with this picture.

Jay, if it were only true we probably wouldn't mind so much, eh? Really makes ya wonder how so many people can vote for people that actually think that way.

Canuck

I know we discussed this issue not too long ago, but i don't remember anyone mentioning the 5 year limitation thing... Can anyone confirm that. I had a conviction many years ago (OUI), and have crossed the border many times wthout problems. What gives?

You know, we wouldn't be having these border problems in the West if we had won the Pig War.

Fifty Four Forty or Fight!!!

[ 08-15-2002, 05:41: Message edited by: mickey ]

A. I would have 'forgotten' to mention the DUI. If they a fingerprint check (very unlikely), they would have declared you ineligible anyway.
B. You should have told her that you were Muslims applying for political asylum in Canada so you could a) commit crimes there, b) collect funds for jihad against the 'infidels', and c) thought Canada would make a great base of operations for future terrorist actions against the United States.

They would have let you in, welcomed you to their country, and provided you with welfare.

George

Very funny George.

Canuck

I happen to travel (as a non-citizen) across that border somewhat frequently. One of the questions you usually get asked is "have you been here before". If you want to minimize further hassles, answer something like "all the time" or "we come hunting almost every year". Silly or not, that answer automatically skips a lot of questions. Kinda like "if yes, go to "page 2" of the questionnaire.

After my initial grilling several years ago by the Canadians, I've always received a smile and a nod. But according to their records, I'm an American, too....... That one comes under the heading "don't volunteer info that wasn't asked for". FWIW, Dutch.

Dutch
A friend of mine was crossing at Niagra Falls and going in wasn't a problem but he stayed a day or to longer than he thought he was going to and on leaving they ask him how long he had been in the country. He gave a "smart answer" of only a couple days.... Well they record license plate number with time of entry and he spent the next couple of hours having baggage, car, personal effects searched and going through the wringer answering questions.
I learned to answer those questions from the Canadian side very truthfully

Greg

Went on a fishing trip a few weeks ago. We crossed through from Minnesota into Manitoba, back into Minnesota and then into Ontario were we stayed and fished. Going into Manitoba took about one minute. Had to call on a phone at the boat landing before going into Ontario. Getting back into the US took about 30 seconds. Zero problems. The biggest problems I have heard about is when crossing with minor aged children. Have birth certificates along and a notarized permission slip from the childs mother/father if they are not along. A birth certificate is a good idea even for adults. I heard rumors that passports will be required in the future. I have never had any problems when crossing. TTS

For our business border crossings have always
been a major hassle going both ways. I learned
long ago to always:

-Be completely truthful.
-Never be a smartass.
-Never offer information they do not ask for.
-Never wear sunglasses while talking to them.
-Be polite but not friendly.
-No small talk.

Ross

George S,
You are totally wrong about being able to get into Canada by only promising to commit crimes.
You are coreect that criminal WILL get preference over hard-working people for entry....
but EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE who is allowed to immigrate here is forced to sign a paper saying they will vote for the LIberal Party for the rest of their life.

It has to be. Otherwise who would vote for them??

The border crossing hassles are just one more illustration, along with citizens being jailed without access to lawyers and courts, billions of dollars spent on meaningless "security", and various other encroachments on civil liberties, that Osama is winning a little more each day his effort to destroy our way of life. We seem to be his best allies.

Mickey: Are you the same Mickey I see sore mouthing MY pet rainbows at Dragon? If so will probably be there in late Sept. or early Oct and hope to see you there. best.

I think one of the misunderstandings here is that a DUI is not a misdemeanor in Canada. It is a criminal offence, the same as if you had been convicted of murder. Stupid, I know, but all those politically correct people (who are still lobbying for tougher laws for DUI's by the way) needed very little encouragement. It does work both ways, as a result of a mispent youth, I have had many hoops I had to jump through (and have to renew every year) for border crossings, a requirement of my work. They do not make it easy on citizens (of either country) and they don't seem able to catch criminals/terrorists without outside help. However, once you have all the magic pieces of paper, they look at you funny, but you're almost always good to go (except in Texas, where they want you to fill out more forms, for some reason). MTelk, there are similar papers available from the Canadian goverment, you can download them off the net, send them in (with cash of course, that works both ways as well) and you will not have that problem anymore. As to not telling them, it depends how in depth of a compuetr search they want to do. If they are pressed for time, they do the short form, if they dig deeper, everything you ever did is in those computers (including the juvenile records that they told you were sealed). As for not coming to Canada anymore, well, it's your loss. One fisherman/hunter more or less won't break the country, but it will certainly put the anti's in a stronger position once that portion of the economy loses value. Trust me on this MTE, this is what they all want, including a lot of the professional beaureucrats that work the borders. JMHO - Dan

I regularly travelled to Canada's various providences over the last twenty years. I hunted, fished several times a year and ran field trials on a regular basis there. Spent some money there and enjoyed myself. I still think the people are great and have friends there but I will not be going there anymore. The reason is very simple...the Government has gone bonkers. They harass the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Not that we're all that much better here for foreign travlers but we have everything Canada has and it just ain't worth the trouble.

Well Pathfinder....that is an interesting position to take. Funny enough, our government has been asked by your government to tighten up the border and now you Americans are complaining that they are. This is just more of the same BS we get from south of the border all of the time. Why don't you do something unique for a change and focus your attacks on the real enemy, like Saudi Arabia.

[ 08-16-2002, 21:24: Message edited by: Eagle Eye ]

Stocker:

Sorry for the late reply but was up at Canim fishing over the weekend. A couple of nice lakes via cayuse up there.

I'm not the guy you're thinking of but fill me in and I could be. I will be out an about Anahem Lake from Sept. thru Nov. If I can get through Sumas.

I found that they border guards will question you seriously if they think you are a hunter. You are assumed to have at least 25 pistols hidden in your vehicle so you can kill people.

Mickey

Anahiem Lake west of Williams Lke?

Are you hunting?

Are you heading there through Whistler/Pemberton and the Duffey Lake Rd?

I wonder if Bush had to pay that $200 fee to get permission to enter canada when he attended the G8 summit about two months ago? After all, he did have a DUI.

Good question Boltman. I tend to doubt it, one law for the rich and powerful you know. Sad but true - Dan

John Stienbeck has a humorous tale of crossing the border with a pet in a book called Travels With Charlie. If I remember correctly he got stuck in "no mans land" for awhile.

My son's DUI was just over 5 years ago. The problem is we did not have proof of it. I asked the lady about that and she said that we would need the legal documentation when the DUI was and since we did not have that they would have to assume it was less than 5 years. Kind of funny that they take your word that you had a DUI but not take your word when you had it.

Gatehouse

I have been that way a number of times as I have a friend in North Van that I fish with alot. We usually go through Gold Bridge as we have another friend there that's good for a night and a cold Kokanee.

Usually though I just go up the canyon.

I will be hunting a bit and hanging around alot. I have an interest in a couple of guide areas. Unfortunately, despite that and a half interest in a Ranch out of Horsefly, I still have use a guide in BC.

I travel back and forth from Canada almost weekly without trouble. I always avoid the lines staffed by women as much as possible though, they always seem to ask more questions.

What if you just tell them, "Nope. No convictions ever."

Or if that doesn't work, just tell them you are terrorists trying to enter Canada illegally. I don't think Canadian Immigration has any problem with illegal immigration at all.

Down in Mexico they just call this sort of thing what it is: A BRIBE.

Now Pecos, that's just not true. You have to claim refugee status. That way you're guarenteed an in, and welfare to boot. We get lot's of immigrants/refugees/terrorists that way (yes, including "refugees" from the USA, I'm not sure what they require refuge from, but they still claim it). It's become the number one way to skip to the front of the line, especially if the only real skills you have are in illegal activities. It's Ok, though, it's how they keep the numbers up in the liberal party. Loud sigh. - Dan

Hey pecos, what do you call it when I have to pay it to cross into the states (cash only, small bills, exact amount)? Still a bribe? Or perhaps taxation without representation. - Dan

Last time I crossed to Detroit, through the tunnel, I got put in a plexiglass cell for half an hour with an armed guard outside while they took my jeep apart. One of the guys I was with had no birth certificate with him. That was before 911, and we had no guns, we were on a buisness trip.

Sorry to hear about this experience John. Don't them border guards of ours up there know you Canadians are peaceable folk? At least none of the "politically correct" fools can accuse our boys of racial profiling. You don't sound like you of Arabic decent to me.