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By Jack Aubry with a file from Petti Fong, Vancouver

Canadians Reminded Entry Is A Privilege, Not A Right

OTTAWA—Canadians are being barred from entering the U.S. after admitting to American immigration inspectors they once smoked marijuana.

A recent crackdown includes what some immigration lawyers are calling "an attitude change" on the part of inspectors, who have become more aggressive since a tough new U.S. law took effect last April.

In one of the reported changes, U.S. officials at pre-flight inspection in major Canadian airports are asking about marijuana use. Canadians who tell the truth are being denied entry indefinitely to the U.S.

The same strict adherence to the law on the part of Canadian inspectors would keep U.S. President Bill Clinton, who has admitted smoking, but not inhaling, marijuana, out of Canada.

"Canadian officers are specifically trained not to ask that question because if we did ask, possibly half your population under 50 would be inadmissable to the country," Greene told the Americans.

Linda Loveless, an assistant chief inspector for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, said complaints about the questioning have come to Washington’s attention and are being examined.

"It is not a general policy that we should be asking that kind of thing, and we have not in any way encouraged people to ask that kind of question outright but that is something that we will look at," Loveless said from Washington.

She said that in 1997 there were about 80 million entries into the U.S. from Canada. Of that number 128,000 were inadmissable for a variety of reasons including lack of citizenship records such as a passport or birth certificate. Ninety-three per cent of those found inadmissable were allowed to withdraw their application to enter the U.S., ensuring no barrier the next time they try to cross the border.

The number of individuals turned back for marijuana use was not available but they are counted in the other seven per cent—about 9,000 -- who leave a record of their failed entry for future attempts.

Greene, who has specialized in immigration issues in Calgary for 14 years, reported the case of a 25-year-old woman who complained to him that she was barred from the U.S. for admitting to having smoked marijuana when she was 19.

He says he has received complaints about the marijuana questioning but he does not know if similar practices are being exercised by U.S. inspectors in other major cities.

Greene, who is national secretary of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration and citizenship section, said Canadians who acknowledge using marijuana are found inadmissable because they are considered guilty of a felony, one of 40 reasons for being denied entry to the U.S.

He says "little white lies" are being told at the border by some visitors to the U.S. and Canada to get around the stricter rules.

"If they don’t have a conviction or your admission to an offence, then they may have a problem refusing entry," said Greene.

He said he was encouraged by the conference call, which was held in response to recent complaints and media reports about the tougher U.S. position.

If U.S. inspectors are more vigilant than they used to be, according to the officer, it’s because visitor traffic between U.S. and Canada has increased.

Last month, the area director for U.S Customs in Blaine said inspectors have been seeing an increase in the number of marijuana smugglers coming from the Lower Mainland. Customs officers are now forced to be more vigilant in questioning visitors, said Gene Kerven.

Under the new law that took effect last April, American immigration inspectors must impose a five-year ban on people they judge to be misrepresenting the reasons for their visit.