Canadian firefighter says he was denied entry to the U.S.
A B.C. firefighter says he was denied entry into the United States, where he was going to take part in a competition for First Responders from different countries around the world.
Article content
Jamie Flynn posted on social media on Thursday to detail what happened to him when he was en route to Birmingham, Alabama. He said he was supposed to represent Vancouver firefighters in the Jiu Jitsu category at the World Police & Fire Games. He described the games as an 'international event uniting frontline responders through sport,' in a post on Instagram.
Article content
'Being denied entry to the United States is deeply upsetting,' he told National Post in an emailed statement on Friday.
Article content
'I lost my flights, my time away, and my opportunity to compete at the World Police & Fire Games in Alabama — an event I had trained extensively for.'
Article content
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jamie Flynn (@jamieflynnbase)
Article content
Flynn said he is a British citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident.
Article content
Article content
He is a firefighter in Vancouver and volunteers with Squamish Search and Rescue. He has served in the British Parachute Regiment (SFSG) and has also served alongside U.S. forces under Joint Special Operations Command.
Article content
'I operated under U.S. command, wore the American uniform, and fought under the American flag. I've always felt a strong bond with the United States,' he told National Post. 'I have no criminal record and no known issues that would justify this denial.'
Article content
In his post on Instagram, he said he trained for the competition in the U.S. for months. 'And still, I'm grounded — sidelined not by injury or lack of effort, but by bureaucracy and silence,' he wrote.
Article content
Flynn intended to fly to Alabama from Vancouver International Airport on Wednesday. He never made his flight because his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) had expired and would not be renewed, Global News reported. He said he received an update on the ESTA app that said, 'Travel not authorized.'
Article content
Article content
ESTA is an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is valid for two years, or until a passport expires, and allows for multiple entries.
Article content
Article content
If a traveller receives a 'travel not authorized' response to their application, CBP says online that they can look into applying for a visa if they still wish to enter the country. The denial only prohibits travel under the Visa Waiver Program and does not determine eligibility for a visa, per the agency.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Ontario men admit to kidnapping Calgary teen at movie theatre for $80K ransom
Two Ontario men have admitted to kidnapping a Calgary teenager from a local movie theatre and holding her for 34 hours while proof-of-life photos were sent to the 19-year-old victim's family. The men, Raejean Hudson and Enyi-Egbe Idedevbo travelled from Vancouver to kidnap the victim, with a promise to be paid $80,000. CBC News will call the young woman LE in order to comply with a publication ban. On Friday, Hudson and Idedevbo pleaded guilty to kidnapping and were handed four-and-a-half year sentences by Justice Margaret Keelaghan after a joint submission was proposed by defence lawyers Andrea Urquhart and Jeanine Zahara and prosecutors Donna Spaner and Katherine Love. 'No idea why she was being abducted' With credit for the time they've already served, the pair have about two years left in custody. Court heard that on April 29, 2023, Hudson and Idedevbo travelled from Vancouver to Calgary to kidnap a member of the "E" family, according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF) filed as part of the plea. The victim was not involved in any criminal activity, according to the ASF. "At the time she was kidnapped, she was unaware that she was related to anyone who was," read the statement. "She had no idea why she was being abducted." On top of a cut of the ransom money, the two men had been promised that "if they did 'good' work there was additional lucrative work that would be available to them," the statement said. Hudson and Idedevbo had been told that the point of the kidnapping "was to get drug trafficking product returned to whomever had hired them," according to the ASF. Rented Airbnb At least four people were involved in the kidnapping, but only Hudson and Idedevbo have been identified. Three days after they arrived in Calgary, the men tracked LE down at a local theatre. They pulled up beside her vehicle in the parking lot and when she exited the theatre, just after 6 p.m., the men grabbed LE as she approached her car, forcing her into the back of their Hyundai Santa Fe. The men took LE to the basement of a rented Airbnb. LE's eyes were covered in duct tape, but she could see black plastic covering the walls and floors. Her wrists and ankles were also duct-taped. One of the men recorded LE while another held an unlit butane torch in front of her face. Proof-of-life video That video and other "proof-of-life" photos and videos were sent to LE's family, including her brother, making the ransom demand. At some point during the kidnapping the victim was forced to undress and some of her jewlery was stolen. The agreed facts don't make it clear why LE was released, but after 34 hours, she was dropped off at the intersection of Glenmore Trail and Range Road 282. Police quickly located the young woman, who was physically uninjured. LE has suffered serious psychological harm. She has been unable to work and has dropped out of school.
CTV News
10 hours ago
- CTV News
Trump says ‘not going to stand' for Netanyahu's continued prosecution
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the West Wing of the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States was 'not going to stand' for the continued prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. 'The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. An Israeli court on Friday rejected Netanyahu's request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, ruling that he had not provided adequate justification for his request. In one case, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has thanked Trump for his support in Israel's war with Iran, which saw a ceasefire agreement earlier this week. His lawyer had asked the court to excuse the leader from hearings over the next two weeks, saying he needs to concentrate on 'security issues.' Trump on Wednesday sprung to Netanyahu's defense, describing the case against him as a 'witch hunt.' On Saturday, he described Netanyahu as a 'War Hero' and said the case would distract the prime minister from negotiations with Iran and with Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian armed group that Israel is at war with. 'This travesty of 'Justice' will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations,' said Trump, although it was unclear what negotiations he was referring to with regards to Iran. Hamas took 251 hostages during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, with 49 still believed to be held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Negotiations are ongoing for the return of the remaining hostages and the bodies of those killed, while Israel's punishing war on Gaza continues unabated. The US leader also likened Netanyahu's legal troubles to his own before he took office for his second term. 'It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure,' said Trump. The Republican was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024 in a case related to hush money payments to a porn star. Trump also faced two federal cases, one related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Globe and Mail
13 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Biden, Harris and Walz attend funeral for and honour former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman
Democratic former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was honoured for her legislative accomplishments and her humanity during a funeral Saturday where former president Joe Biden and former vice-president Kamala Harris joined over 1,000 mourners. Hortman was fatally shot two weeks earlier by a man posing as a police officer in an attack that Minnesota's chief federal prosecutor has called an assassination. It and another shooting also left her husband, Mark, dead and a state senator and his wife seriously wounded. 'Melissa Hortman will be remembered as the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history. I get to remember her as a close friend, a mentor, and the most talented legislator I have ever known,' Governor Tim Walz said in his eulogy. 'For seven years, I have had the privilege of signing her agenda into law. I know millions of Minnesotans get to live their lives better because she and Mark chose public service and politics.' Tearful mourners pay respects to slain Minnesota politician Melissa Hortman Neither Biden nor Harris spoke, but they sat in the front row with the governor, who was Harris' running mate in 2024. Biden was also one of more than 7,500 people who paid their respects Friday as Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert, lay in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda in St. Paul. Gilbert was seriously wounded in the attack and had to be euthanized. Biden also visited the wounded senator in a hospital. Dozens of current and former state legislators from both parties and other elected officials who worked with Hortman also attended. Hortman, who was first elected in 2004, helped pass an expansive agenda of liberal initiatives like free lunches for public school students during the momentous 2023 session as the chamber's speaker, along with expanded protections for abortion and trans rights. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she yielded the gavel to a Republican under a power-sharing deal, took the title speaker emerita, and helped break a budget impasse that threatened to shut down state government. Walz said Hortman saw her mission as 'to get as much good done for as many people as possible.' And he said her focus on people was what made her so effective. 'She certainly knew how to get her way. No doubt about that,' Walz said. 'But she never made anyone feel that they'd gotten rolled at a negotiating table. That wasn't part of it for her, or a part of who she was. She didn't need somebody else to lose to win for her.' The governor said the best way to honour the Hortmans would be by following their example. 'Maybe it is this moment where each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for things we care about,' Walz said. 'A moment when each of us can recommit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did – fiercely, enthusiastically, heartily, but without ever losing sight of our common humanity.' The reverend Daniel Griffith, pastor and rector of the Basilica, who led the service, said the country is in need of deep healing. He said it seems as if the U.S. is living in the 'dystopian reality' described at the beginning of William Butler Yeats' poem, 'The Second Coming.' 'Here in Minnesota, we have been the ground zero place, sadly, for racial injustice,' Griffith said. 'The killing of George Floyd just miles from our church today. And now we are the ground zero place for political violence and extremism. Both of these must be decried in the strongest possible terms, as they are, respectively, a threat to human dignity and indeed, our democracy.' But the priest also said Minnesota could also be 'a ground zero place for restoration and justice and healing.' He added that the presence of so many people was a sign that work can succeed. Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese offered his condolences to the Hortman family. A private burial will be held at a later date. Opinion: A parade, protests and assassinations: tensions keep rising in Trump's America The Hortmans were proud of their adult children, Sophie and Colin Hortman, and the lawmaker often spoke of them. In a voice choked with emotion, Colin said his parents embodied the Golden Rule, and he read the Prayer of St. Francis, which his mother always kept in her wallet. He said it captures her essence. It starts, 'Lord make me an instrument of your peace.' After the service, Walz presented the children with U.S. and Minnesota flags that flew over the Capitol on the day their parents were killed. The man accused of killing the Hortmans at their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park on June 14, and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in nearby Champlin, made a brief court appearance Friday. He's due back in court Thursday. Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, surrendered near his home the night of June 15 after what authorities called the largest search in Minnesota history. Boelter remains jailed and has not entered a plea. Prosecutors need to secure a grand jury indictment first. His lawyers have declined to comment on the charges, which could carry the federal death penalty. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views. But prosecutors have declined so far to speculate on a motive.
