MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER STOPPED AT BORDER ON WAY TO GIVE TALK ABOUT DRUGS

EDMONTON - A former methamphetamine addict scheduled to speak in
Hobbema about the dangers of drug use two days after a gang-related
murder on the Samson First Nation reserve was stopped at the border
Sunday.

David Parnell, who used the drug for seven years and now tells his
story as a motivational speaker, planned to travel from Tennessee to
speak at Ermeskine Junior/Senior High School.

Parnell has spoken more than a dozen times in Canada since 2004, but
when he arrived in Calgary from Nashville on Sunday morning, Canadian
border guards stopped him due to his criminal record.

Parnell said he had planned to make eight presentations to adults and
youths in the community, which has been plagued by drug-related gang
violence.

"I try to give people hope, if they can't recover. I try to get kids
so they don't even start," Parnell said from the Minneapolis airport,
where he was waiting for a connecting flight back to Nashville.

Parnell, 41, said he has a handful of criminal charges from when he
was in his 20s, including assault and public intoxication. He also
spent four months in jail in 1994 for possession of marijuana with the
intent to sell.

Parnell said he realized the border services officer was just doing
her job, but he was upset and shocked when he wasn't allowed into the
country.

"I told her that I had already paid my price. I had done my time," he
said.

Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White said a criminal
record doesn't necessarily mean someone will be denied entry into
Canada, since border officers assess applications on a case-by-case
basis.

The onus is on travellers to ensure they meet all entry requirements,
she said, adding that anyone with a criminal record should to check
with the Canadian consulate in their home country before coming to
Canada.

"If you come in five times it doesn't necessarily mean that just
because you came in last time that you would be allowed to come in
this time," White said. "It's all dependent on what is presented to
us."