Vixen
Penultimate Amazing
I agree that it is not established that Canadian "public mischief" includes Italian "calunnia". But even if the two are similar, it does not mean that any conviction for calunnia is equivalent to a conviction for public mischief.
By analogy, let's consider as an example the crime of blasphemy as defined in Canada and as defined in Pakistan.
Canada’s Criminal Code Section 296
296. (1) Every one who publishes a blasphemous libel is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years
(2) It is a question of fact whether or not any matter that is published is a blasphemous libel.
(3) No person shall be convicted of an offence under this section for expressing in good faith and in decent language, or attempting to establish by argument used in good faith and conveyed in decent language, an opinion on a religious subject.
Source: http://centreforinquiry.ca/canadas-blasphemous-libel-law/
Pakistan's blasphemy law (as reported by the BBC)
What do the laws say?
The law enacted by the British made it a crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs and intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship. The maximum punishment under these laws ranges from one year to 10 years in jail, with or without a fine.
During the 1980s the blasphemy laws were created and expanded in several instalments. In 1980, making derogatory remarks against Islamic personages was made an offence, carrying a maximum punishment of three years in jail.
In 1982, another clause prescribed life imprisonment for "wilful" desecration of the Koran, the Muslim holy book. In 1986, a separate clause was inserted to punish blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and the penalty recommended was "death, or imprisonment for life", in that order.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225
Suppose someone who was convicted for blasphemy in Pakistan, let's say for damaging a copy of the Koran, but in private, and that person has made no statements nor issued any publication libeling any religion, seeks to enter Canada. Has that person violated the Canadian law against blasphemy? If that person did not report his conviction for blasphemy to CBSA, would he be denied entry to Canada on those grounds?
If the elements of the crime in Canada are different from those in the foreign country, even though there is some overlap in the elements, and the person would not have been convicted in Canada because the Canadian elements did not agree with the foreign elements as applied in practice for the individual case, is the person obligated to report the foreign conviction?
I would imagine a person from Pakistan wanting to enter Canada as a Pakistani national, would need to apply for a visa. That's where it stops. If he or she has a criminal conviction, no can come in, unless the authorities waive the prohibition.
(cf: John Lennon wanting to come to the USA but refused because of a minor drug possession offence [minor because it only attracted a small fine and/or a caution].) - or more recently, Nigella Lawson who merely revealed in court she'd snorted cocaine (no charge, no conviction).
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