GOING TO CANADA:
A PERSONAL ACCOUNT
July 1970
The author of this memo was trained as an Army field medic and given
orders to Vietnam late in 1Q69» He considered himself a CO, but chose
to go to Canada rather than deal further with the military.
I've never tried before to put all my thoughts together about Canada, so this may
be a bit incohesive, but I'll try to tell you all I can think of that would be
of value to someone doing counselling or someone thinking of coming up here.
Before I start, I want to say that the Manual for Draft Age Immigrants to Canada
is quite reliable, except for a few small details. I strongly recommend that
it be read-.
First, entering Canada. My wife and I came across the border into Ontario as
"tourists, for 10 days." There were no difficulties of any kind with Canadian
customs. We went straight to the city where a friend of mine was working at the
psychiatric hospital. He got me an interview, and two days later I had a job.
My wife and I then went to the immigration office to apply for Landed Immigrant-
Status. We had dealings with two officers on separate visits. The first officer
was business-like and polite to me, and very friendly toward my wife. He asked
for very little documentation of any of the information on the application; however, this is an individual case, and I would suggest that an applicant have all
the necessary papers with him. While there is a well-defined point system, as
you know, the immigration officer can "stretch a point or two" if he likes someone, and vice versa. First impressions are important!!  (I'll return to this
later.) In my case, he would not forward my papers to Ottawa until he had a
letter from my employer. By my understanding of the laws, he really had no right
to do this, but I didn't complain since this presented no problem for me. Once
the papers are sent to Ottawa, the immigrant is given a letter stating that he
has applied for L.I. status, and that he may work. It also states that if the
L.I. status is refused, the person has agreed to leave the country.
If the person has the time, I would suggest that he enter Canada as a tourist,
find a job and get written proof of it from the employer, leave Canada, and then
apply at the border. This will do two things. It will indicate a desire to
work, and it will give extra points on the application.
The second Immigration officer I met with was the Officer-in-Charge at the border
station. My wife and I met with him for a final routine check of our papers
before they were sent to Ottawa. He was very pleasant and cordial. He said that
we should never hesitate to contact him if we have any questions or problems.
Now, the people and some practical advice. We have yet to meet anyone who expressed any antagonism towards me because I'm a deserter. They quite frankly
ask why I'm here, and I frankly tell them.  (This is especially true with Immigration when making application—TELL THE TRUTH! If a person is a deserter, he
should include his Army, Navy, etc., experience in the employment history section.
An applicant should quite plainly have nothing to hide.) We live in a small,
very conservative city, but even so the general response is, "Welcome! I sympathize
with you. I hope you like it here!"
CCCO
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