|
|
W A S H I
N G T O N, Nov. 3, 2000 — Even if George W. Bush is elected president, he
may need special permission to get into Canada because of his arrest
for drunken driving.
The Republican candidate for president
acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that he was arrested for
driving under the influence on Labor Day weekend in 1976, near his
family home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
According to Canada’s Criminal Code, Bush
is deemed an “inadmissible” person, in violation of Section 19 (2)
(a.1) of the Immigration Act of Canada.
In other words, he has committed a crime
considered an indictable offense in Canada, and, because of that he
is banned.
Alternative Entry Points
Luckily for Bush, if he is elected president of the United States Nov. 7
and is invited to any gatherings of heads of state in Canada, since his
offense is more than five years old, there are ways for him to gain
entry without breaking federal law.
“He is going to have to go through what’s
called the rehabilitation process. The rehab takes a while and it would
be somewhat demeaning for a president of the United States. He would
have to go through a series of steps, including getting letters from
friends saying he has cleaned up his act. If he wanted to come to Canada
before completing the lengthy rehab process, he would need the
permission of a senior immigration official,” immigration lawyer Colin
R. Singer tells ABCNEWS.
Has He Reformed?
According to a “rehab check list” compiled by the Canadian law firm
of Larson, Bryson & Boulton, the Canadian government considers
several factors when determining whether a person wanting entry to
Canada has truly rehabilitated themselves from their criminal offense
and deserves entry, including: acceptance of responsibility for the
offense; evidence of remorse; evidence of a change in lifestyle; and,
evidence of stability in employment and family life.
If Bush wants to avoid any appearance of
favoritism and skip the special waiver from a senior official, it is
possible to speed up the rehab process by just paying a hefty
“processing fee” at the border.
And a lot of Americans with DUIs on their
records manage to get in to Canada without border computers catching
their previous offense and without admitting to their criminal records.
Of course Singer doesn’t recommend that
approach for Bush.
“If Bush comes to Canada or has ever been to
Canada since his conviction and hides the fact that he has a prior
conviction — no matter how far back — he could be excluded from
Canada permanently and never allowed to return.”
An Influential Law
Canadian immigration experts say the law affects numerous Americans
seeking entry to Canada every month, usually when computer checks do
catch the old offense.
There’s even information on a Canadian
fishing Web site explaining to visiting anglers how to cross into Canada
with an old DUI charge. And according to Singer, “This affects
professionals in the sports and entertainment industries more often than
people think.”
Gore and Clinton Illegal
Too
Canadian attorney Darryl Larson maintains Bush has some notable company
in the “inadmissible” category, contending that Canadian law bans
both President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
“If you admit to having smoked marijuana,”
Larson explains, “You have admitted to an unlawful act. That would
allow reasonable grounds for our immigration officers to determine that
you have broken a law that, if committed in Canada, would be subject to
prosecution and therefore falls under this law. So this would apply to
both Clinton and Gore.”
Larson and Singer say a president of the United
States can expect to bypass the rehab process and be given special
permission to enter fairly quickly.
But a special waiver is good for only 30 days.
“If George W. Bush wants to come to Canada
for more than 30 days to vacation here, like President Roosevelt used to
do, or if he decides he wants to live or work here,” Larson contends,
“He’s going to have to go through the Canadian rehabilitation
process.
It’s the law.”
|
