IMM 5669E Schedule A Background Declaration- question 6b

[Ponga]

Have you...

Been convicted of, or are you currently charged with,
on trial for, or party to a crime or offence, or subject
of any criminal proceedings in any other country?

con·vic·tion

noun
noun: conviction; plural noun: convictions

1.
a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense, made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.

of·fense

noun
noun: offence; plural noun: offences; noun: offense; plural noun: offenses

1.
a breach of a law or rule; an illegal act.


So my question is...what about a traffic offense, like a speeding ticket, or anything other than DUI/DWI, careless or reckless driving that resulted in an accident or injury, etc.? Would these have been considered a conviction or offence in question 6b?

My hope is that they are in fact `infractions', but even an infraction is considered a petty crime:
http://crime.about.com/od/Crime_101/f/What-Is-A-Infraction.htm

Am I over thinking this? I did have to go to court and pay a fine that was imposed by the judge.

I've never been arrested or fingerprinted (until my FBI PCC), so I don't consider myself a criminal. ???

Just had a few tickets when I was very young...in my awesome car (69 Dodge Coronet 500). Woo hoo!!

 

[screech339]

I don't think this applies in your case since it didn't fall under federal jurisdiction of criminal code.

Screech339

 

[bartjones]

What does your criminal background check say?

 

[Graihn]

Not really answering anything Ponga said, just want to add something.

I think the key word for admission to Canada is transferability. Does the petty crime this individual made in another country play as a petty crime in Canada, or would this petty crime committed by this individual be considered more serious in Canada. That is probably why the question is phrased the way it is, confusing, which leads to people listing their petty crimes which gives CIC the option of judging that situation compared to equivalents in Canada making a person inadmissible to Canada or not.

I saw an episode of Border Security, where a guy form the US was held up at the border for serving time in jail, due to him mooning someone (flashed his a55). Even though he was up against a judge, and was detained for a short time, he was found admissible to Canada, as Canada didn't have a law against this.

 

[Graihn]

What does your criminal background check say?

As Bartjones asked abt criminal background check, I assume everything you need to write is what shows up on your criminal record. If there is no record, you don't put anything down.

 

[bartjones]

Not really answering anything Ponga said, just want to add something.

I think the key word for admission to Canada is transferability. Does the petty crime this individual made in another country play as a petty crime in Canada, or would this petty crime committed by this individual be considered more serious in Canada. That is probably why the question is phrased the way it is, confusing, which leads to people listing their petty crimes which gives CIC the option of judging that situation compared to equivalents in Canada making a person inadmissible to Canada or not.

I saw an episode of Border Security, where a guy form the US was held up at the border for serving time in jail, due to him mooning someone (flashed his a55). Even though he was up against a judge, and was detained for a short time, he was found admissible to Canada, as Canada didn't have a law against this.

Yes, it's called "equivalency", i.e. does the offence in another country have an equivalent offence in Canada.

I also think that on matters of criminality you need to be careful. Failing to report an offence can give rise to CIC suggesting misrepresentation, which is a very difficult thing to overcome. I should know, lol. I'm dealing with it right now in my wife's application.

 

[Ponga]

Ah...but therein lies the potential problem; I have not yet received my FBI PCC.

Good grief...if this shows up, I suppose I'll be deemed to have misrepresented myself.

Or...I'll [try to] stick to my `infraction' theory.

But seriously...has anyone else interpreted this question to mean more than a simple traffic ticket?!?!
Ok...maybe a few simple traffic tickets. Vrooooom!! LOL!

 

[bartjones]

Ah...but therein lies the potential problem; I have not yet received my FBI PCC.

Good grief...if this shows up, I suppose I'll be deemed to have misrepresented myself.

Not necessarily. It has to be an offence of some sort in the US that is considered a criminal offence in Canada. If all you have are speeding/traffic tickets, you should be fine.

How old are the offences? That is also a factor.

 

[Ponga]

Not necessarily. It has to be an offence of some sort in the US that is considered a criminal offence in Canada. If all you have are speeding/traffic tickets, you should be fine.

How old are the offences? That is also a factor.

I'm guessing that they are >20 years old, but they did occur after I was 18. I honestly can't recall the last time I was ticketed for anything...including a parking ticket.

However...about 16 years ago, my employer had a department picnic in a local park and catered in food and beer (you can probably guess where this story is going to go). We spent an afternoon playing volleyball, eating and drinking on the company's dime and it was a great afternoon...until a park ranger showed up and started writing tickets for drinking in the park. When we all told him that our company had scheduled this event, he didn't seem to care. Several of us had to go to court and pay a fine of ~ $125 (if memory serves me correct). So...I hope that this also falls under the `infraction' section of the law in Canada.

Looking back on it, the company was TOTALLY at fault for this and believe me, they have very deep pockets!!



At the end of the day, there has to be more than one person that's also made this same potential mistake with this question...right?!?!

 

[screech339]

Based on your story history, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Don't think there is a federal equivalence to this offense. That probably won't be listed in your FBI report as that infection doesn't even fall on federal jurisdiction.

Screech339

 

[Ponga]

Based on your story history, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Don't think there is a federal equivalence to this offense. That probably won't be listed in your FBI report as that infection doesn't even fall on federal jurisdiction.

Screech339

Hence my `over thinking' remark.

Thanks to all.

 

[bartjones]

I agree with screech339. If the ticket was for drinking in public that is only a provincial offence in Canada and you'll be fine. The closest criminal offence is 'causing a disturbance'. Even if that were your crime, it's a summary conviction offence in Canada. If your offence was more than 10 years ago you'll probably be deemed to be 'rehabilitated', so I wouldn't be very concerned about it at all.

 

[Ponga]

I agree with screech339. If the ticket was for drinking in public that is only a provincial offence in Canada and you'll be fine. The closest criminal offence is 'causing a disturbance'. Even if that were your crime, it's a summary conviction offence in Canada. If your offence was more than 10 years ago you'll probably be deemed to be 'rehabilitated', so I wouldn't be very concerned about it at all.

My initial concern was not so much if/how that would translate to Canadian law, but the fact that by not mentioning this in my answer, it would be seen as misrepresentation. Honestly, I didn't even think of it (or the minor traffic tickets from 20+ years ago) when answering that question. I thought "never been arrested, or incarcerated, so the answer is an emphatic NO".

 

[bartjones]

My initial concern was not so much if/how that would translate to Canadian law, but the fact that by not mentioning this in my answer, it would be seen as misrepresentation. Honestly, I didn't even think of it (or the minor traffic tickets from 20+ years ago) when answering that question. I thought "never been arrested, or incarcerated, so the answer is an emphatic NO".

Yeah, I know what you mean. As you noted in your OP it says "crime or offence". The wording of the question is so broad.

It's a tough call. I suppose you could always answer "yes" and then put in the box below that you got a ticket 20 years ago for drinking in public. I'm pretty sure the VO would just pass right by it and you will have fulfilled your duty to be completely honest.

 

[Ponga]

Yeah, I know what you mean. As you noted in your OP it says "crime or offence". The wording of the question is so broad.

It's a tough call. I suppose you could always answer "yes" and then put in the box below that you got a ticket 20 years ago for drinking in public. I'm pretty sure the VO would just pass right by it and you will have fulfilled your duty to be completely honest.

Well, that ship has already sailed. I have AOR, so at this point the potential damage has been done...I guess.