Jalandhar, January 11 - Canadian
Federal Minister for Immigration and Multi-culturalism Jason Kenny, who
will be on two-day visit of Punjab from tomorrow, has been urged to
resolve all issues related to visa and immigration of Punjabis to
Canada and other problems at the Canadian Embassy in Delhi and Canadian
Consulate at Chandigarh.
Jason and his cabinet colleague minister of agriculture Gerry Ritz will visit Amritsar, Chandigarh and other places.
Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) president Balbir Singh Rajewal, who had organised a dharna in front of the Canadian Embassy in Delhi on September 16 last and submitted a memorandum to the Canadian Prime Minister through the embassy raising visa and immigration issues, said Kenny’s meeting with the Punjab government would be useful only if it redressed problems faced by Punjabis for getting visa and immigration to Canada. Rajewal said Kenny had been sent by the Canadian government to India and especially Punjab to deal with the issues pointed out by the BKU in its memorandum to the Canadian Prime Minister.
Rajewal said the Canadian Embassy in Delhi and consulate at Chandigarh had been rejecting 90 per cent applications for visa without valid grounds. He said even people who had close relations settled in Canada could not attend important functions in that country because they were not granted even temporary visa by the embassy in India.
Rajewal said Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Kenneth Macartney had admitted in a letter to him (Rajewal) that about 50 per cent applications were rejected. However, Rajewal said the number of rejected applications was higher.
The BKU has also urged Kenny to withdraw the “mission questionnaire” one has to reply and attach with the application submitted for visa. He said the questionnaire had several questions related to internal security of the country. There was no reason such questions be asked from any Indian citizen by Canadian authorities. He said most of the questions in the questionnaire were related to Punjab and the format of questionnaire had been designed seemingly to deny visa to most of the Punjabis. Rajewal has also urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to take up visa and immigration issues with the Canadian ministers when they called on him.
Rajewal said Kenny should also disclose the action taken against B. Hudson, former Canadian chief visa officer, who was posted in Delhi, for berating Punjabis. “We had complained against him to the Canadian authorities and sought an apology from him,” said Rajewal.