Canada: Foreign Nationals

Conviction Dept: While there's no evidence anybody with a child-pornography conviction has got into Canada under the new policy, enough concerns were raised to prompt Citizenship and Immigration to add a clarification Friday to the operational bulletin that lays it out, according to Vancouver Sun. As of March 1, foreign nationals with a misdemeanour conviction have been eligible for a one-time pass to skip the onerous application process and cross the border into Canada as part of the so-called Tourism Facilitation Action Plan. The exemption is available to all foreign nationals coming to Canada by land, air and sea who have a single conviction for which they served no jail time and generally applies to crimes such as drunk driving, public mischief and shoplifting and the government has quietly closed a loophole that could have allowed some-one with a minor child pornography conviction to enter Canada under the new directive aimed at making it easier for U.S. hunters and anglers to cross the border to spend their tourist dollars. "This public policy fee exemption does not apply to persons convicted of child pornography or sexual offence sic ," the updated directive states. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.