On December 18, 2018, Canada introduced much tougher penalties for individuals with convictions of DWI, DUI or DWAI. The new bill, titled the Impaired Driving Act, has made impaired driving a serious criminal offense in Canada, whereas it was previously only considered a criminal offense. To learn more about this, click here.
However, since the change, there have been rumors of officers treating these charges differently at the border. Now, almost two months after the change to the criminal law regarding DUIs in Canada, IRCC has finally confirmed that officers have been instructed of the following:
a) impaired driving offenses (including foreign) committed on or after December 18, 2018 would be considered serious criminality; and
b) offenses committed prior to this date would continue to be treated as criminality (providing they were not convicted in Canada and sentenced to more than six months).
Please note that as always, if an individual has more than one DUI or DWAI offense, this will be treated as serious criminality. This is in line with relevant case law in Canada and provides much needed clarity to our clients.
Berardi Immigration Law is now offering DWI and DUI permits into Canada! If you have a DUI or DWI, be sure to contact Berardi Immigration Law today to set up a FREE consult with our Canadian immigration attorney!
