I always respected that Canada is open to almost everyone…

Except if you have a DUI

I knew a lady that was a Canadian citizen but lived and worked in Seattle. She got a DUI and they won’t let her go back into Canada until she completes the long and expensive process that they require for DUI offenders.

I always figured it was a good line in the sand telling some Americans, they are not welcome

drunk driving is serious and I respect that they treat it as such

Looking at their rules for it, it actually seems kinda fucked: One bad choice years ago bars you for life unless you are wealthy enough to go through their process and hire lawyers, it's a even crime to try and enter, but that is definitely not a widely known fact, so even though someone might have paid their dues and even been completely sober for years, they're still fucked unless they're well off.

I get wanting to protect people and stop dangerous driving but effectively banning someone for life if they made a mistake and happen to be poor seems a bit unfair. You can bet your ass rich people have all sorts of ways around this that completely circumvent the system anyhow on top of all that.

As usual, it's another regulation that disproportionately affects poor people who are unable to afford proper legal representation to begin with (and are more likely to be falsely convicted of a DUI in the first place).