Minimor
Well-Known Member
Has anyone else encountered a problem with getting a US steward across the border into Canada this year? Maybe the Brandon show was the first Canadian show this year, I'm not sure about that.
Anyway, just in case, I thought I would mention this to you--our US steward got to the border on Tuesday and they wouldn't let him across. Apparently some new regulations came into effect in April, and the customs officers were being strict about enforcement. Our steward was supposed to have a temporary work visa and didn't. We were able to fax the application down to the border. The officials there still weren't satisfied--they said that a steward doesn't really qualify--but since refusing him entry would in effect ruin our show, they would allow him enter Canada this time. He had to pay a fee of $150. The fair office reimbursed him for that amount and is going to try & get the money refunded--apparently there is no fee to apply for the temporary permit/visa, so we're not sure if this is a penalty for not having the paperwork completed in advance, or what.
Now, I've checked out the Canada website & found this wording:
Judges, referees and similar officials
Officials at international amateur competitions can come to Canada to judge or officiate without a work permit. This includes judges or adjudicators of artistic or cultural events such as music and dance festivals, judges for animal shows, and judges of agricultural competitions.
Taken from this page: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp#judges
Personally I would think that a Steward would fit into the "similar officials" portion of this exemption, but obviously this particular customs officer did not see it that way. I don't know if he checked it out with someone higher up and this is the official stance at every port of entry, or if this was just this one officer's interpretation of the wording.
The MB International show is coming up in mid July and the show committee doesn't want to have this same problem at that time, so they are checking into it & trying to make sure everything is straight forward and problem free this next time around.
I just thought I'd draw attention to this potential problem for other shows. Show organizers may want to check into this ahead of time and make certain that they won't have any problem getting a US Steward into Canada for their show. Judges are quite plainly not affected by this visa requirement--no problem there since "Judges" are specifically listed in the exemption.
Anyway, just in case, I thought I would mention this to you--our US steward got to the border on Tuesday and they wouldn't let him across. Apparently some new regulations came into effect in April, and the customs officers were being strict about enforcement. Our steward was supposed to have a temporary work visa and didn't. We were able to fax the application down to the border. The officials there still weren't satisfied--they said that a steward doesn't really qualify--but since refusing him entry would in effect ruin our show, they would allow him enter Canada this time. He had to pay a fee of $150. The fair office reimbursed him for that amount and is going to try & get the money refunded--apparently there is no fee to apply for the temporary permit/visa, so we're not sure if this is a penalty for not having the paperwork completed in advance, or what.
Now, I've checked out the Canada website & found this wording:
Judges, referees and similar officials
Officials at international amateur competitions can come to Canada to judge or officiate without a work permit. This includes judges or adjudicators of artistic or cultural events such as music and dance festivals, judges for animal shows, and judges of agricultural competitions.
Taken from this page: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp#judges
Personally I would think that a Steward would fit into the "similar officials" portion of this exemption, but obviously this particular customs officer did not see it that way. I don't know if he checked it out with someone higher up and this is the official stance at every port of entry, or if this was just this one officer's interpretation of the wording.
The MB International show is coming up in mid July and the show committee doesn't want to have this same problem at that time, so they are checking into it & trying to make sure everything is straight forward and problem free this next time around.
I just thought I'd draw attention to this potential problem for other shows. Show organizers may want to check into this ahead of time and make certain that they won't have any problem getting a US Steward into Canada for their show. Judges are quite plainly not affected by this visa requirement--no problem there since "Judges" are specifically listed in the exemption.
