Planning a visit to Canada in the near future? Have a skeleton or two in the closet? If any of those bones had anything to do with John law, you'd best do a little research before you go because you may be in for a big surprise at the border. Thanks to heightened security and improve data sharing between US homeland security and their Canadian counterparts, border police in Canada now have complete access to your criminal records, nor matter how old your crimes are or how minor they might be. As beauty is in eye of the beholder, so are your crimes. DUI/DWI in Canada is considered to be a serious offense, a felony, whereas in the US it's generally regarded as a misdemeanor unless there are aggravating circumstances (you killed or injured someone).
According to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, entitled "Going to Canada? Check your past" many 'respectable' US citizens have been rudely turned around at the border lately, resulting in some ruined vacations.
You can read more about basic DUI/DWI charges see a list of 45 other DUI/DWI articles in the LegalMatch Law Library. Next post we'll have more information about what you can do to gain entry into Canada should you be encumbered by your past.
