Bill C-10 makes crossing U.S. border tougher if you have a criminal record

VANCOUVER - The recent passage of Bill C-10, the federal Safe Streets and Communities Act, has made crossing into the U.S. from Canada more difficult for anyone with a criminal record.

A solution can be provided by Commissionaires B.C., but getting a waiver won't be cheap and it could take as long as a year or more, according to Deb Barnett, supervisor of identification for the organization.

Barnett said a Canadian ``record suspension'' is most important for employment reasons. But the new crime law has extended the waiting period for that to five years from three years for less serious offences and to 10 years from five years for indictable offences.

Anyone with three indictable offences leading to prison sentences of more than two years each can't get their record wiped clean. Neither can someone convicted of sex offences against a child.

But getting a U.S. entry waiver is critical for travel to or through the U.S.

``This has some pretty major effects on people's lives,'' said Barnett.

She cited two cases of people who came directly to her office after being turned back at Vancouver International Airport.

One was heading to the U.S. to visit his dying sister in hospital. A random check revealed he had an assault on his record from a marital dispute more than 20 years in the past and he was rejected.

The other man was heading to his second home in Palm Springs, Ariz., to join family members who had travelled ahead of him. A random check of the man, who was in his 50s, turned up a marijuana possession from when he was 18.

``He had no idea they were doing this,'' said Barnett of the checks.

The Commissionaires are an independent, non-profit security organization that provides meaningful work for former Canadian Forces and RCMP members. There are other companies that also deal with the complicated process of getting what used to be called ``pardons'' but are now, since March 12, called ``record suspensions.''

Barnett pointed out that a Canadian pardon is not recognized by U.S. border guards.

That's where a U.S. entry waiver, which is granted by the Department of Homeland Security, is required. It costs $585 US, payable to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

All of this requires getting criminal record files, for which the Commissionaires charge a service fee. The fee for that is $399 but the total for the entire process averages $1,059.

Criminal records are kept in the Canadian Police Information Centre, which can be accessed by U.S. Customs. If a U.S. official has accessed that record it remains in their database even if that record is wiped out by a pardon in Canada.

That's why the entry waiver is critical.