[Capsicum]

When I read about the history of the draft dodgers in the Vietnam war era it always strikes me as surprising how readily available Americans thought the choice to simply head across the border was then, instead of staying and getting drafted. Maybe it's just my lack of knowledge/experience on this matter, but I seem to get the impression that many of them did not seem to have much trouble doing so really quickly, even with no job lined up, or family there.

Nowadays, you hear about how difficult it is for Americans and Canadians to just pack their bags and move to each others' countries this way -- it's not something you do at the drop of a hat.

Was it really that much easier for someone from south of the border to just decide to move to Canada, with no family, job lined up or even much knowledge about what's up there other than that they wouldn't have to serve in the war?

Or was it that the draft dodgers were particularly well educated, and passed all the criteria (eg. they were college/university educated, spoke English etc.). I'd imagine the points system was already in play here so Americans, being so culturally similar would easily pass. Maybe the draft-dodging Americans had these similarities with Canadians that someone from overseas, say a Jamaican or Italian or Chinese, during the same era, would not be let through so quickly. Or were immigration standards for everyone worldwide just that much more lax than now?

Nowadays, arguments about whether there should be that safe third country agreement whereby refugees in the US shouldn't be allowed to go to Canada since the US is already safe for them reminds me of the draft dodgers. The draft dodgers could have argued that the US wasn't safe for them since they were at risk of being drafted to a war they wanted no part in, similarly to the way refugees stateside argue about the danger of being sent back if they stay in the US, but it seems like the draft dodgers faced far less resistance (from both the government and the public) than refugees today.