Canada border crossing with firearms

[WY ME]

I have a friend that owns property in Alaska. He's in his late 60's. He drives up every year in late April and comes home in July. Been doing it for 30+ years. Last year, while going thru the check point, he was informed that he wouldn't be allowed in to Canada. He was told that a no contest plea, from a simple assault(bar fight when he was 23) that resulted in a fine and misdemeanor was on his record and he wouldn't be entering Canada. He come home very angry. My question is, if anyone knows, how can he do this for half his life with zero problems then out of the blue he's denied entry? Certainly his background has been checked many many times. I just don't get it. I was going to plan a trip up there to stay with him and fish, but it looks like that might not be happening. Any thoughts?

Your friend can be "forgiven" by the Canadian gov't by simply filling out some paperwork and paying a fine (gringo tax). It's one or two hundred dollars. I don't recall but it's probably a cash payment. It's curious that every time a foreign country requires some type of a gringo tax from a US citizen it can never be paid with a credit card...cash only. Sometimes, i.e. Venezuela, they don't even accept their own currency, they want greenbacks. if you're gonna exchange your currency, do so before you enter Canada as some banks in CA won't do it unless you bank with them. Call your bank and/or credit card company before you leave the US as your card may not work up there unless you tell the banking institution first. It's a safety precaution they have to protect your cards from fraud.

 

[tim]

I have probably crossed 20 something times. I have found Canada usually easy to get into the US harder. Some crossings are 60 seconds others 30 minutes. just depends on who you get and how YOU ACT.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

The "forgiveness" WY ME is referring to is similar to being pardoned by their government. I looked into it years ago when I had a dui. At that time it cost 200, and the paperwork was mind-numbing. It included getting an FBI background search on yourself, which was a pain in the butt. On top of all that, there was no guarantee to get the pardon.

 

[WY ME]

The "forgiveness" WY ME is referring to is similar to being pardoned by their government. I looked into it years ago when I had a dui. At that time it cost 200, and the paperwork was mind-numbing. It included getting an FBI background search on yourself, which was a pain in the butt. On top of all that, there was no guarantee to get the pardon.

If I remember correctly we had 4 out of 5 guys in our crew stopped at an Alberta border crossing for DUI's and one 40 year old bar fight arrest. It took 3 days for their paperwork (pardons) to clear customs and and allow them to cross the border.

About 5 years ago I crossed the AB border with my family and no guns. They repeatedly kept asking me how many guns I owned. I told them it was none of their business (which it isn't), I was questioned some more, truck and boat searched, etc., but we we had done nothing wrong so they finally let us in.

In 1982 me and my brother were stopped at the AK/Yukon border crossing by an RCMP for lack of proof of insurance on his car. We even had his insurance agent call the border, and the local sheriff's dept from our hometown call the border customs to verify his car was insured. They refused to work with us until we had the AK state patrol in Tok confirm our story via a tele-type . Because of the delay we ended up having 100+ pounds of caribou meat spoil because we couldn't get our meat to a freezer in Whitehorse. In those days there were no cell phones, fax machines or internet to help us.

All you can do is do your best, tell the truth and cross your fingers when you cross the border.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I never thought about money. Should I have both American and Canadian currency, or do they accept U.S. dollars everywhere?

 

[ssliger]

The fee for taking the guns into Canada are paid with Canadian dollars, they usually have a place to do the exchange at the border. Everywhere else I went, they took either or.


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[luckynv]

PM me your e-mail address and I will forward you an e-mail from SCI about traveling with firearms, apparently several new things about traveling that are being implemented April 3rd, God bless

 

[WY ME]

I never thought about money. Should I have both American and Canadian currency, or do they accept U.S. dollars everywhere?

Canadians are really good about taking US dollars and pretty much every store knows the exchange rate.

 

[trkytrack2]

Lets see....an illegal Mexican can just waltz across the border singing "I love Obama" but if you have eggs or tomatoes your screwed!