Bush
an Inadmissible Person
to Canada
Information
courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
How
serious is a DUI conviction? Well, among other things, it can get
you barred from entering some countries, including our neighbor
to the north..... as President Bush discovered.
Under
Canada’s laws (Section 19(2)(a.1) of the Immigration Act),
anyone who has been convicted of drunk driving is a member of an
"Inadmissible Class" and his entry into the country would
be a criminal and deportable offense. Period. This is a lifetime
ban: President Bush’s 1976 conviction in Kennebunkport, Maine,
would render him personna non grata. Same for Vice-President Cheney’s
two DUIs in Wyoming.
However,
Canadian law permits a person with a DUI on his record to be admitted
into Canada if he has been successfully "rehabilitated".
This requires applying for, and being granted, a "Minister’s
Permit of Rehabilitation" from the government -- but not until
five years after all of the terms of the sentence have been completed
(if there is a three-year probation, as is common, then it will
take at least eight years). The government reviews the application,
along with accompanying evidence, and applies a "rehab checklist"
in deciding whether the individual has truly rehabilitated himself
and should be permited to enter the country. This checklist includes
evidence of genuine remorse, acceptance of responsibility, change
in lifestyle, and stability in employment and family life.
As
for President Bush’s little problem, the Canadian government
decided to bypass all of this and simply granted him a special "pardon"
permitting this unrehabilitated drunk driver into the country....for
a limited period of time.
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