Record-Sharing With US Includes Mentally Ill Travellers

Looking back on ten years since 9/11, it's obvious that if you've had an encounter with the police in your home country, you might expect some difficulty in getting cleared to board a flight to the US. But what if that encounter was over a suicide attempt, years in the past, or some other symptom of mental illness which was not a threat to anyone but yourself?

CBC News in Canada reports there are at least a dozen or more such cases, according to Stanley Stylianos, program manager at Canada's Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office. He adds the office has received many more calls from Canadians who haven't yet experienced such problems with US Customs, but are worried they might when visiting south of the border.

One case on record is that of 65-year-old Lois Kamenitz of Toronto, who took an overdose of pills in an attempt to end her life back in 2006. Police were called, Lois was saved, and says she's made efforts over the last four years to recover from anxiety and depression. In any event, she notes suicide is not a criminal offense.

But when she tried to board a flight to the US from Toronto, she faced a four-day delay, and a $250 charge to get a note from a doctor approved by US Homeland Security, before she was allowed to make the trip. DHS Spokesman Brad Benson says now that she has the note, she shouldn't have any further problems traveling to the US.

But CBC notes that 9.6 million other Canadians have similar records on file with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which means US bureaus now have direct reciprocal access to those records. Lois Kamenitz says the government is "obviously not considering what the impact of that can be and how much that can alter a person’s life."

FMI: www.dhs.gov