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I've been effectively banned from Canada. I was arrested (never charged) many years ago when I was 19. It was on suspicion of "intending to injure a vehicle" Do

by weeksie 10y ago

I've been effectively banned from Canada. I was arrested (never charged) many years ago when I was 19. It was on suspicion of "intending to injure a vehicle" Don't ask, it was in Utah. Anyway, the court has no records of my being arrested, but somehow the Canadian border police do. The last time I went up to Montreal on the train I was pulled aside and asked if I'd ever been arrested. I first said no, but then laughed and said, "Yeah actually. 20 years ago." Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. I haven't been back. Though I have travelled wide and far since and not caught any slack. Seriously Canada. I like you, but you're not that awesome. Ridiculous.

raverbashing 10y ago
You can ask for a waiver, not sure how complex it is, but that's what a lot of hockey (and other sport) players do
omginternets 10y ago
>Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. They asked you to prove a negative? This speaks volumes about the mindset of run-of-the-mill border guards and the sensibility of their policies...
- lucozade 10y ago
  > They asked you to prove a negative? At least in principle you might be able to get a court to write a letter saying you haven't been charged. I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. I still can't think of what I could have said/done that would have convinced them. And yes I did ask at the time. And yes it annoyed them that I asked.
  - omginternets 10y ago
    >I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. As a point of interest, this is actually possible! There is a well-known effect in cognitive science called the Stroop effect [0], in which the semantic value of a word interferes with the main task of having to declare the color of the font. If the task is performed with Greek words and you don't speak Greek, you will be able to enumerate the color of the "ink" without any penalty in reaction time. Apparently this was used in the 50's to root out Russian spies in the CIA. (But the absurdity of the border-guard's demands are not lost on me, of course!) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect
    - bryondowd 10y ago
      If we want to nitpick, wouldn't this test only work for people who read the language? In theory, if you spoke Greek, but never learned to read it, you would pass the test as well. Fascinating though, thanks for the link.
      - omginternets 10y ago
        Well, yes ... obviously ;) That said, there are electrophysiological markers of semantic incongruency (e.g. table + fork = congruent, cat + rag = incongruent) that work in the auditory modality. If you're interested, the component in question is called the N400 and you should be able to find plenty of references on google shcolar.

by weeksie 10y ago

raverbashing 10y ago

You can ask for a waiver, not sure how complex it is, but that's what a lot of hockey (and other sport) players do

omginternets 10y ago

>Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. They asked you to prove a negative? This speaks volumes about the mindset of run-of-the-mill border guards and the sensibility of their policies...

lucozade 10y ago
> They asked you to prove a negative? At least in principle you might be able to get a court to write a letter saying you haven't been charged. I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. I still can't think of what I could have said/done that would have convinced them. And yes I did ask at the time. And yes it annoyed them that I asked.
- omginternets 10y ago
  >I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. As a point of interest, this is actually possible! There is a well-known effect in cognitive science called the Stroop effect [0], in which the semantic value of a word interferes with the main task of having to declare the color of the font. If the task is performed with Greek words and you don't speak Greek, you will be able to enumerate the color of the "ink" without any penalty in reaction time. Apparently this was used in the 50's to root out Russian spies in the CIA. (But the absurdity of the border-guard's demands are not lost on me, of course!) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect
  - bryondowd 10y ago
    If we want to nitpick, wouldn't this test only work for people who read the language? In theory, if you spoke Greek, but never learned to read it, you would pass the test as well. Fascinating though, thanks for the link.
    - omginternets 10y ago
      Well, yes ... obviously ;) That said, there are electrophysiological markers of semantic incongruency (e.g. table + fork = congruent, cat + rag = incongruent) that work in the auditory modality. If you're interested, the component in question is called the N400 and you should be able to find plenty of references on google shcolar.