SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRAVEL AGENTS
This past February, San Francisco Chronicle writer C.W. Nevius fired a shot heard around the nation when writing how Americans who had been convicted of various offenses, including driving while intoxicated, now were being denied admission into Canada.
Nevius shared traveler horror stories of those who'd made routine visits to Canada previously, but were now finding themselves being treated, well, like criminals. "Ask the well-to-do East Bay couple who flew to British Columbia this month for an eight-day ski vacation at the famed Whistler Chateau, where rooms run to $500 a night. They'd made the trip many times, but were surprised at the border to be told that the husband would have to report to ‘secondary' immigration. There, in a room he estimated was filled with 60 other concerned travelers, he was told he was ‘a person who was inadmissible to Canada.' The problem? A conviction for marijuana possession. In 1975."
In March, ASTA issued a stern member advisory to remind customers traveling to our northern neighbor that Canada's law could deny them entry if they'd ever been convicted of a criminal offense, including infractions that may only be deemed as misdemeanors in the United States. Perhaps most chilling was ASTA's explicit warning that "failure to inform customers about this law could lead to breach of fiduciary duty against the agency."
What's going on here? Is our friendly neighbor to the north suddenly taking umbrage with Americans for being American? And why is ASTA putting responsibility squarely in travel agents' laps?
With respect to Canada, you may be surprised to learn nothing has changed whatsoever in the nation's application of its long-standing law regarding admissibility or how it's applying its rules, particularly for denying admission into the country for individuals who have prior criminal records.
While most convictions in the United States for serious infractions like DWI are treated as misdemeanors or less, Canada has long considered this offense as a felony. Canada isn't applying them differently or collecting any new information, despite the theories proposed in various media articles.
What has changed is that within the past year, the information exchanged between the United States and Canada has increased significantly, thanks in no small part to the events of 9/11 and the continuing war on terror. Canada and the United States have substantially raised the bar to secure our borders.
As a result, if an individual had a DWI in 1999, for example, and visited Canada in 2003, he or she probably had no difficulty being admitted. However, with additional and new information the United States now shares, it's placed into the Canadian database. A direct consequence is that the same individual may now be prohibited from entry. Once they have been processed at immigration, they'll be returned to the U.S.
If you have Canadian-bound customers with a driving while intoxicated conviction on their records, they must go through a separate process to gain permission to enter. That process may take up to six months.
ASTA wasn't alone in cautioning agencies to protect themselves. Travel industry attorneys gave similar warnings.
So what should agencies do with respect to customers planning travel to Canada? ASTA advises that this information be disclosed at the point of sale and documented in the passenger name record or printed on the itinerary.
Carlson has advised its agents that they may wish to consider providing a waiver in advance of the final booking for all of their Canadian-bound customers to sign indicating that they understand that they may be denied admission to Canada if they have been convicted for any of the following offenses, each of which are considered inadmissible classes:
• A minor offense (including shoplifting, theft, assault, possession of an illegal substance, etc.)
• An "indictable" criminal offense (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter; etc.)
• Driving while intoxicated
Taking these steps can ensure that those with spots on their records will avoid embarrassment at the border.
Roger E. Block is executive vice president for the Carlson Travel Franchise Group, based in Minneapolis.