Heads-Up for Canadians going south

Canadians are already avoiding spending their holidays in the US because of you know who in the White House. Now this. What if the bordering US states have laws allowing pot?

I don't smoke pot.. but I have been and will continue to avoid traveling to the States until you know who is gone and the gun laws start to resemble something a civilized country would have.

Sorry.. the States seems just too scary now..

As for past use being cause for a lifetime ban.. that is simply the DUMBEST thing I have ever heard of... really.. I'd been embarrassed to be a border guard. " what you smoked a joint in 1986?? --you're banned forever" ..

So guess that would mean I either have to lie or admit that I tried pot in highschool.. 35 years ago !!

What is wrong with the USA ,, its just becoming so weird.. sorry.. I know there are mostly lovely people there.. but they sure do not seem to be running the show.. the nut cases are.

Pat, Canada bans people from entering if they have had a previous DUI no matter how far in the past it occurred.

What if the bordering US states have laws allowing pot?

Not surprisingly, as the article states, that's irrelevant. I'm not a big fan of legalized marijuana, but this country has got to resolve the state versus federal issue that we now have. It's still illegal under federal law, but several states (including mine) have legalized it. So you can buy and use marijuana under state law, but you can be arrested and prosecuted by federal authorities for doing so. I'm not sure there are any other activities that fall into that type of situation.

this country has got to resolve the state versus federal issue Robert, I heard a rumor that the Congress is going to tackle that immediately after they move to country to the metric system.

Chani....hahahahahaha!!!!!

It's simply not correct that anyone with a DUI is banned forever from entering Canada. A recent DUI can certainly be a pain in the butt, as anyone who's watched. But, I think it's 5 years clean and then you're fine to enter.

Obviously, this is something that any traveler that might fall into the category should check with whatever the current policy is.

"Heads up for Canadians heading south."

Probably not that many heading that way for the time being.

I'm here on Cape Cod right now for two weeks. I like this part of the world and Virginia too, where I spent a week this past spring. I feel perfectly safe here. Of course there are dangerous neighbourhoods in major American cities, same as there are in Toronto. The worst thing about my holidays in the States is that it is more expensive to eat out than any places I've visited in Europe over the last several years.

"...and the gun laws start to resemble something a civilized country would have." - Pat, that's never going to happen. Too far down that road, no real will for change, and there are too many sticky fingers in the pie.

Never tried weed, the pros and cons of which are for a different debate. The fellow in the cottage next to the one I'm renting smokes something on his patio which sure does not smell like tobacco. Eucalyptus perhaps?

Pat is in Victoria. Right across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the US and from me. I go to Victoria 3-4 times a year on the ferry. Does she really never go to Port Angeles, Seattle, or the San Juan Islands because of Trump and guns? I would be hard pressed to see Port Angeles as a dangerous gun filled location.

To be fair, there are those who won’t travel to Victoria until it stops dumping untreated sewage into the Strait, so people do choose not to travel for political reasons.

Dale,

Tourists with a previous dui no matter how far in the past are not allowed into Canada unless they go through a rigorous, expensive legal rehabilitation protocol. It is not merely the passage of time without another dui and you are allowed in. DUI is considered a felony in Canada but normally a misdemeanor here. For some, that process may be too onerous to even bother so to me that would be akin to a lifetime ban. There was a thread concerning this a short while ago on this forum. I am curious. Do you know someone who has crossed the Canadian border with a previous dui?

Canadian writter, Farley Mowat (Never Cry Wolf), was banned from enter the US in 1985.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-04-25-8501250139-story.html

Canadian author Farley Mowat, who was barred from entering the United
States on Tuesday, said Wednesday that he would try to go there ''only
when and if they send Air Force One to Pearson International Airport
with a letter of apology.''

He was about to board a Los Angeles-bound flight at Toronto`s Pearson
Airport on Tuesday afternoon when he was approached by a U.S.
immigration officer and told he would not be allowed to enter the
country.

U.S. authorities were close-lipped about the reason for barring him.

In Washington, Duke Austin, a spokesman for the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, said Mowat`s name was in a ''lookout book'' of
people around the world to be denied admission for various reasons.

To find out the what and why, read Mowat's book "My Discovey of America".
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/farley-mowat-2/my-discovery-of-america/

In one corner we have Canadian nature writer Mowat (Never Cry Wolf,
The Siberians, And No Birds Sang). In the other, the US Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS), which, one day this past spring,
prevented him from boarding a plane from Toronto to Los Angeles, where
he was to kick off a promotional tour for his latest book, Sea of
Slaughter. Why?

Let's be fair; this is not a Donald Trump issue. This is a law that's been in effect for decades and enforced regardless of the administration. To expect that the USA change it's laws to match those of bordering countries when those countries allow something illegal in another counrty is extremely naive.

Not too long ago there was huge media focus on people trying to "escape" (read immigrate illegally) into Canada. On examination the numbers were so small as to be laughable, but the uproar it caused in our northern neighbor was pretty large. (Arizona gets more "illegals" in in a day than Canada does in a year.)

When Canada changes it's immigration policy (and enforcement) to match that of the USA, then we can talk about "civilized" countries...

I was curious about the raw sewage thing in Victoria, BC as I've heard that for quite some time. A simple Google search (http://www.rstv.ca/is-victoria-dumping-raw-sewage/) shows that it's not a case of all the toilets in Victoria going straight to the harbour but rather a deep sea outfall of "99.93% water and very little actual solids" after passing through a 6mm screen (thats about 1/4" for those people in Myanmar, Liberia and the USA) with no floaties.

This is not the industry I work in, but it wouldn't surprise me if this system is not unlike many other systems in the developed world.

I'm no expert in Canadian immigration law, but from what I have seen it appears to take a much more civilized and polite approach than current US scattershot enforcements which seemingly reflect the opinion and mood of one certain politician each day.

The ban on marijuana users entering the US seems no different than the Canadian ban on US citizens entering Canada with a DUI at first glance -- but it is not the same at all. One is you have broken a law and been convicted of it, the other is you did something completely legal where you are coming from. Unless you actually are carrying weed with you, why should it matter if you smoked 30 years ago at a concert or on the drive to the border that day? If it is legal in Canada, fully legal and not just somewhat tolerated as is done in parts of the US (in relation to the Federal laws), what difference does it make to the US? Maybe you went to a Rush concert the night before and picked up the smell. The US Border Patrol is going to ban you from entering the US for life because you smell? Wow, we really need to adjust our concept of reality and focus on real threats.

Watching several border crossing videos lately of people coming and going to Canada from the US makes me feel it was easier to get in and out of East Berlin during the cold war than it is to visit a supposedly friendly country today.

Mark, they don't make videos of thousands of people crossing the border very efficiently for tv. Where would the drama be? They put together the unusual or different situations that come up. Most people will experience a polite, serious, and efficient border crossing.

Carol trust me , way more tourists flood into Victoria than go to Port Angelas! Lol

Nope last time I took ferry over to PA was likely over 15 yrs ago . I’m not a shopper so I haven’t been to Seattle in more than 20 years and even then it was driving through not staying .
I do miss Hawaii , but nope won’t go now , Mexcio is cheaper and has beautiful beaches too.

And being convicted of the crime of DUI is NOT the same as being asked I youve EVER smoked pot !
One is not prevented from entering the States if they have ever had a beer , so why pot ?

Finally, Victoria is right in the middle of building a sewage treatment plant as we speak .

Carol,

Every time I have been to Canada, either driving or flying, the Canadian border officers have been nothing but pleasant and you could almost say happy to see me. I can't say the same for the US side of things on my return.

Yes, I realize the videos shown are selected from probably thousands of crossings over months of time specifically because of the drama of that situation. But there is no reason for the US border agents to treat everyone like they are drug mules or convicted terrorists. It seems that they feel they have the permission to do so with the current administration.

The last time we returned to the States from Victoria to Port Angeles by ferry, the American Customs and Boarder Protection was confiscating all the dog food.

I do miss Hawaii , but nope won’t go now , Mexcio is cheaper and has beautiful beaches too.

pat, I'm curious what your reason is for not going to Hawaii? It can't be because of possible gun violence since Mexico is far more dangerous in that regard than Hawaii, even worse than the US in general. If it's political, based solely on who's in the WH, then that makes even less sense unless you also avoid all countries whose leaders you disagree with. So, I'm guessing that it's probably because Mexico is much less costly than Hawaii and maybe you are just budget conscious.

"Watching several border crossing videos lately of people coming and going to Canada from the US makes me feel it was easier to get in and out of East Berlin during the cold war than it is to visit a supposedly friendly country today."

Having done both (and the US/Canada boarder a couple times every year) I can assure you it is nothing like Berlin was.

Know someone that got a DUI in the states. Went through all the hoops (classes, not driving, fines, etc.) to clear the record. Has a US passport and has traveled to Canada multiple times since. It all depends on how much effort and $ someone puts into getting rid of that DUI on their record in their state.

We travel a couple of times a year to BC. Always easier to get into Canada than back into the US. Both of us have long term US passports, had DOD security clearances; they must know everything about us, and that's the way it was 25 years ago when we lived in BC. Hasn't really changed. And every time, we are consistently asked if we are bringing firearms into BC. Really!?

All DUI's are not equal and all states do not treat them the same way. It is an overgeneralization to say that anyone can get their DUI off of their record. It all depends on what the orginial sentencing says.

I think that's what I said "in their state". Works in some, not in others.

And as all of us know that live in the US, laws state by state are all over the map.

There have been several news stories in the last few days expressing concern that people who work in pot sales, including B.C. government workers, will be banned for life from entering the U.S. This is one story on that subject. The legalization of pot in Canada is somewhat of an unprecedented situation and will probably take some time to work through it.

I suspect there won't be a problem for travellers coming to Canada with pot after October 17th, however those same travellers could have a problem reentering the U.S. with pot. Anyone that wants to head to Vancouver for a weekend and pick up a shipment of prime B.C. bud may get a rude awakening when they go home.

Apparently it is possible for those with a DUI to enter Canada, as detailed in this article. Those affected by this will have to be prepared to spend some money, and deal with this before arriving at the border! When the CBSA officer asks, "have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense", h/she generally already knows the answer so being truthful is the best policy.

Hopefully there won't be too many people trying to enter Canada like this idiotic moron. The individual in this case is a 21 year old male from Oregon, and Crown counsel has now approved charges, including dangerous operation of a vehicle and flight from a peace officer. I believe both offenses are criminal code charges (felony) and he could get five years behind bars for each.

As far as travelling to the U.S., there are two main reasons I won't be making any trips south in the near future.....

1. the 35% exchange rate! For those of us on a pension, that's a bit of a problem. I will tolerate the Euro exchange rate on occasion due to my level of interest in seeing Europe and the fact that I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to take overseas trips.
2. Resort Fees! Two destinations I would consider in the winter are Vegas and Hawaii, and most (all?) hotels in those locations charge mandatory resort fees. The average for those in Vegas seems to be about US$40 per day or about C$51 per day. That seems like blatant price gouging and I refuse to pay fees for facilities that I may not even use. If there are any hotels here in Canada that charge them, I won't be staying at their properties either. I haven't encountered that problem yet at any of the hotels I've used in Europe.

The resort fee should be illegal to list separately if it is a mandatory fee. Just increase the hotel rate to include the fee.

What is really bothersome is in Hawaii it seems any hotel near the water that has a swimming pool or can drop a kayak in the sand is suddenly a "resort" and then charges a resort fee.

The whole resort fee is a HUGE pert peeve of my mind. We ran into this recently when my husband and daughter spent a long weekend in DC. The 'resort' fee was for pool access, towel service at the gym and bottled water at the gym/pool. They should either include it in the room rate or charge for each service. Ridiculous!

I hate "resort fees" too, not that I stay at a lot of places that could even remotely be considered "resorts." A few months ago we stayed in a New York City hotel (NYLO) that charged a $31 daily "urban fee," for "WiFi, unlimited local and long distance calling, use of business center for printing, scanning, and faxing, in-room bottled water, welcome cocktail upon arrival, and neighborhood perks and events." The only service we used was in-room wi-fi. Now that I think of it, I must have had the "welcome cocktail" because I'd have been a fool to miss it.

So either you're out in the country paying a resort fee, or in the big city paying an urban fee. Look for "suburban fees" or "interstate highway access fees" coming to your community soon! ;-)

"that charged a $31 daily "urban fee," for "WiFi, unlimited local and long distance calling, use of business center for printing, scanning, and faxing, in-room bottled water, welcome cocktail upon arrival, and neighborhood perks and events."

I would never use most of the services listed above, which is why this compulsory charge is such a blatant rip-off! Hotels can use whatever "creative names" they want, but the bottom line is that all of these services should either be provided in the cost of the room or charged on a "user pay" basis. I could care less whether I get a "welcome cocktail", but I'm being forced to pay for it anyway.

I generally choose hotels that provide 'free" Wi-Fi and ironically many of the lower priced hotel chains provide this with the room. The high end hotels that charge exorbitant prices for the rooms seem to be the only ones that charge extra for Wi-Fi (somewhat ironic).

It seems there are a lot of people upset with this practice - http://killresortfees.com/ . The Federal Trade Commission was supposedly investigating this, but it perhaps the hotel industry has told them to "back off" - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/resort-fee-investigation-ftc-allegedly-backing-off-trump-administration/ . One has to wonder if there's been any pressure on the FTC from those operating hotels (I won't mention any names).

"Canadians are already avoiding spending their holidays in the US because of you know who in the White House." Hmmm....well my friends in Alberta and others in the province continue to visit here in great numbers and despite all the background noise.

Well, I 've been spending more time in Canada since the current occupant of the White House moved in.

Nah, I just really like Canada, especially the western provinces, and never explored that part of the world in detail in the past. I also like the exchange rate which favors the US $ much more than at points in the past. And it's easy to get to. I can drive, or it's a short plane flight.

"I also like the exchange rate which favors the US $ much more than at points in the past."

The exchange rate is certainly a bonus for those visiting Canada! I'm sure the operators of businesses here appreciate more visitors from south of the line.

Hopefully all visitors to western Canada will be spared the smoke next year!

Resort Fees! Two destinations I would consider in the winter are Vegas and Hawaii, and most (all?) hotels in those locations charge mandatory resort fees. The average for those in Vegas seems to be about US$40 per day or about C$51 per day.

I own a condo in Maui that we rent out when we are not there, so from first=hand knowledge I can say that the best way to avoid resort fees is to rent directly from the owner or fo through a site like VRBOcom. In that scenario you do not pay resort fees but have the same access to amenities as those who do pay.

Besides, there are very few actual hotels in Maui. Most vacationers stay in condo units that are rented out by management companies as if they were hotel rooms. But you wouldn't necessarily understand this until you were there and investigated.

Marcia,

I've certainly thought of using Air BnB or similar, but not sure they're a good deal for solo travellers. Hostels are another option, but I'd prefer to stay in a hotel if possible. I've heard that there are some hotels in both locations I mentioned that don't charge resort fees, but I'll have to do some searching to find them.

Ken,

We have a unit in South Maui that's equivelent to a simple hotel room - no kitchen - that rents through VRBO to singles or couples. It absolutely saves money over hotels. Our rental costs just $137 a night, while the average hotel room on Maui is more than $300. There are no hostels in Hawaii that I know of.

I don't recommend AirBnb in Hawaii because so many of their local listings are illegal and therefore in risk of being shut down when the government implements upcoming enforcement measures. Instead, look to VRBO.com, where all Hawaii listings have a separate line item for the required room tax as well as a tax ID number.

Marcia,

Thanks for the additional information. That sounds like a very reasonable price, even for those of us that have to deal with currency exchange. I'll keep that in mind. Hopefully there are restaurants nearby, as I have no intention of cooking or doing dishes while on holiday!!!

There are quite a number of Hostels in the Honolulu area, several in Maui and at least one in Vegas (which doesn't charge resort fees). Some of them may be "age restricted" (ie: not available for us old geezers).

BBQ grilling is not the same as cooking. It's been a while since our last Maui visit, but our condo had a gas grill. Pick up some fresh ahi steaks and/or marinated meats and take-out side dishes at one of the Kehi grocery stores for an evening picnic watching the sunset. Your Loonies will go farther self-catering a BBQ dinner.