Alaskan native David Edenshaw of Hydaburg was trying to cross the Canadian border recently to play in a basketball tournament.

But Canadian Border Services Agency officers near Prince Rupert turned him back apparently because of a U.S. drunk-driving conviction 13 years ago.

Edenshaw, who was travelling with his wife, Jolene, was surprised, especially since he'd successfully crossed the border several times before and submitted the required paperwork showing he now is a good citizen.

The Edenshaws have been travelling back and forth between British Columbia and Alaska without incident for the last 10 years, including five times to visit family on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

When the family took their case to the media, Faith St. John, a spokeswoman for Border Services' Pacific region declared: "People with criminal records are not admissible into Canada...That would include impaired driving."

Okay then.

Now lets take a look at Nicholas Tse--the photographer-slamming, Ferrari-crashing, girlfriend-dissing "bad boy" of Canto-pop.

On March 23, 2002 Tse's black Ferrari F360 Modena crashed on Cotton Tree Drive in downtown Hong Kong.

Who was at the wheel?

Tse's former chauffeur Shing Kwok-ting, according to the original police report.

Further investigation indicated otherwise.

Tse had actually crashed the car, called Shing at home and at Shing's suggestion, Tse left the scene, allowing the chauffeur to ask the arresting officer if he could "stand in" for Tse as the culprit.

Tse was convicted in October 2003 of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by allowing his chauffeur to take the blame for crashing his Ferrari.

He spent two weeks in jail on remand before a judge ordered him to do 240 hours of community service.

In November of the same year Tse was fined and banned from driving for six months after pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving that caused a another spectacular crash.

He lost his license for six months and was fined US$513.

This month, the Asian pop idol was whisked through Vancouver's International Airport before you could say "criminal background check".

No one was asking any questions as to how a person convicted of trying to pervert the course of justice was being allowed into the country for a high profile Chinese New Year concert organized by the Vancouver based Success group.

Neither Immigration Canada nor the Border Services people will talk about individual cases.

But it is obvious that they have different standards for different people.

Tse and Edenshaw are not the only contrasts we have seen when it comes to entering Canada.

The Asian Pacific Post has told you about Macau gambling czar Stanley Ho, whom the RCMP has listed in an Asian Organized Crime Roster as a Chinese gangster.

He has denied the allegations and has no problem entering the country or partying with our prime ministers.

On the other hand when the Sikh widow of a car crash victim in Squamish wanted to attend her husband's funeral, Immigration Canada threw up all kinds of road blocks.

They only relented after the community came together in an uproar.

Then there is the case of the polygamous commune called Bountiful in Southeastern B.C. where men marry several women in total defiance of the criminal code.

Many cross the border to come and go from their sister communes in Utah and Arizona having no problems at the border.

But when a Kuwaiti sheik who was married to two women according to Islamic principals applied to come to Canada, our Immigration officials said no way, citing Section 293 of the Criminal Code which outlaws polygamy.

Immigration Canada and others who stand as our gatekeepers insist the laws are applied without favour when it comes to assessing who gets in and who stays out.

But there are just too many instances out there that paint a disturbingly different picture.