I stole this from Lou's Marxism list.
An American professor scheduled to teach at Carleton University this
fall was denied a work permit because of his arrest during a protest 26
years ago — a move he says has chilling implications for activists and
protesters on both sides of the border.
"I've not been convicted of a crime," said Tom Juravich, who teaches
labour studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. "But
somehow now, simply because I was arrested 26 years ago, I seem to be a
potential threat here in Canada."
He said that when he tried to cross the border at Cornwall, Ont., last
week, Canadian border agents told him his file showed he was arrested by
U.S. authorities in 1981. That was during a protest on a union picket
line, Juravich said.
He added that he was told he must provide further documentation about
the arrest in order to be cleared for a work permit.
Juravich said he visited Canada more than 50 times in the past two years
to work and to spend time with his partner, Teresa Healy, who lives in
Ottawa.
The situation implies that young activists and protesters may have
trouble crossing the border in the future, he said, and that may
discourage some people from engaging in activism or participating in
protests.
"I think this is going to have a chilling impact on the kind of
legitimate dissent that we consider as a part and parcel of the
democratic process," he said.
He blamed his recent problem on the way information is now shared
between Canada and the United States, as a result of terrorism fears.
Canadian border agents can't be expected to interpret decades old legal
documents from another country, he added.
Patrizia Giolti, spokeswoman for the Canadian Border Services Agency,
said in an e-mail that the agency cannot comment on Juravich's specific
case.
But she said information sharing between the two countries is nothing
new and that people may be deemed inadmissible because of criminal
charges laid in another country, even if those charges are later withdrawn.
"To allow an officer to determine their admissibility, they must provide
complete details of the charges, convictions, court dispositions,
pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law and court
proceedings," she added.
Meanwhile, Juravich's situation is also causing problems for Carleton
University, where Juravich was hired to teach one course in labour
culture and another in sociology.
"To lose two classes taught by a sort of internationally reputable
scholar is a disaster," said Rianne Mahon, director of the university's
Institute of Political Economy, which hired Juravich.
She said the news that Juravich was denied a work permit came as a shock.
CBC website:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/07/30/ot-carleton-protest-070730.html
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
