OTTAWA, Ontario: Chelsea Manning said Monday she was denied entry into Canada because of her criminal record in the United States.
The transgender woman was known as Bradley Manning when she was convicted in 2013 of leaking a trove of classified documents. She was released after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by President Barack Obama in his final days in office.
On Monday, she posted a letter from Canadian immigration officials to her Twitter account that said she was not admitted because she was convicted of offenses deemed equivalent to treason in Canada. She had tried to cross at the official border office at Lacolle, Quebec, on Friday.
Manning said she would challenge the decision.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale suggested Monday that he would think hard before overruling a border officer’s decision.
“No such request has been made to me with respect to that matter,” Goodale said. “And, when a Canada Border Services officer has exercised appropriately within their jurisdiction the judgment that they are called upon to make, I don’t interfere in that process in any kind of a light or cavalier manner.”
People whose criminal records make them ineligible to enter Canada aren’t necessarily out of luck. They can apply for what is known as a “temporary residency permit,” either before trying to enter the country or at the border. To be eligible, the person has to prove their need to enter or stay in Canada outweighs any risk they might pose to Canadian society.
Whether Manning attempted to apply for such a permit is unknown.
Immigration lawyer Peter Edelmann said either the minister of public safety or immigration could also step into allow her to enter Canada, perhaps on humanitarian grounds. “Both ministers could make an exception if they wanted,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to comment on the case, saying he wanted further details.
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Chelsea Manning says she was denied entry to Canada
Chelsea Manning says she was denied entry to Canada
Greenland should hold talks with the US without Denmark, opposition leader says
COPENHAGEN: Greenland should hold direct talks with the US government without Denmark, a Greenlandic opposition leader told Reuters, as the Arctic island weighs how to respond to President Donald Trump’s renewed push to bring it under US control.
Trump has recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, reviving an idea he first floated in 2019 during his first term in office.
Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defense system. Its rich mineral resources also fit Washington’s goal of reducing dependence on China.
The island is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own parliament and government, but Copenhagen retains authority over foreign affairs and defense.
“We encourage our current (Greenlandic) government actually to have a dialogue with the US government without Denmark,” said Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the largest opposition party and the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence.
“Because Denmark is antagonizing both Greenland and the US with their mediation.”
Naleraq, which strongly advocates a rapid move to full independence, doubled its seats to eight in last year’s election, winning 25 percent of the vote in the nation of just 57,000.
Although excluded from the governing coalition, the party has said it wants a defense agreement with Washington and could pursue a “free association” arrangement — under which Greenland would receive US support and protection in exchange for military rights, without becoming a US territory.
All Greenlandic parties want independence but differ on how, and when, to achieve it.
GOVERNMENT SAYS DIRECT TALKS NOT POSSIBLE
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said Greenland could not conduct direct talks with the US without Denmark because it is not legally allowed to do so.
“We must respect the law, and we have rules for how to resolve issues in the Kingdom,” she told Sermitsiaq daily late on Wednesday.
The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Broberg’s remarks.
The comments come ahead of a planned meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week to address tensions between NATO allies.
Motzfeldt said it was important to set Greenland’s relationship with Washington on a steady course.
“My greatest hope is that the meeting will lead to a normalization of our relationship,” she told Sermitsiaq.
Rubio appears not to favor a military operation, according to France’s foreign minister. But others in the Trump administration say the option is on the table.
“We are going to make sure we defend America’s interests,” US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview aired late on Wednesday. “And I think the president is willing to go as far as he has to make sure he does that.”
(Reporting by Tom Little and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; additional reporting by Soren Jeppesen; writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Ros Russell)
Trump has recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, reviving an idea he first floated in 2019 during his first term in office.
Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defense system. Its rich mineral resources also fit Washington’s goal of reducing dependence on China.
The island is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own parliament and government, but Copenhagen retains authority over foreign affairs and defense.
“We encourage our current (Greenlandic) government actually to have a dialogue with the US government without Denmark,” said Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the largest opposition party and the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence.
“Because Denmark is antagonizing both Greenland and the US with their mediation.”
Naleraq, which strongly advocates a rapid move to full independence, doubled its seats to eight in last year’s election, winning 25 percent of the vote in the nation of just 57,000.
Although excluded from the governing coalition, the party has said it wants a defense agreement with Washington and could pursue a “free association” arrangement — under which Greenland would receive US support and protection in exchange for military rights, without becoming a US territory.
All Greenlandic parties want independence but differ on how, and when, to achieve it.
GOVERNMENT SAYS DIRECT TALKS NOT POSSIBLE
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said Greenland could not conduct direct talks with the US without Denmark because it is not legally allowed to do so.
“We must respect the law, and we have rules for how to resolve issues in the Kingdom,” she told Sermitsiaq daily late on Wednesday.
The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Broberg’s remarks.
The comments come ahead of a planned meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week to address tensions between NATO allies.
Motzfeldt said it was important to set Greenland’s relationship with Washington on a steady course.
“My greatest hope is that the meeting will lead to a normalization of our relationship,” she told Sermitsiaq.
Rubio appears not to favor a military operation, according to France’s foreign minister. But others in the Trump administration say the option is on the table.
“We are going to make sure we defend America’s interests,” US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview aired late on Wednesday. “And I think the president is willing to go as far as he has to make sure he does that.”
(Reporting by Tom Little and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; additional reporting by Soren Jeppesen; writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Ros Russell)
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