COMMENT

On CIC Minister Jason Kenney's India visit 

By Hon. Navdeep Singh Bains  
responds to our request for comments on 
Indo-Canada Outlook report in February 2009 issue 

For many years, Canada has been known as a country that welcomes immigrants of diverse backgrounds. However, there is a growing concern that an overwhelming number of visa applications at the Canadian Embassy in Delhi and Chandigarh are being rejected.     

It is important to remember that there is a direct impact of Canada’s immigration policies on Canadians. Many businesses are losing potential revenues because their overseas employees are unable to get visitor visas for business trips. Families are unable to invite their relatives for a visit to attend family ceremonies because visitor visas are being rejected.  

There needs to be more accountability and transparency in Canada’s immigration policies. All applications should be judged on there own merit and not on generic guidelines, detailed explanations on why a case is refused should be provided to all rejected applicants. Canadians have always believed in a progressive immigration policy that welcomes new immigrants of all backgrounds. The time has come to reform our current immigration policies in order to maintain Canada’s reputation of having one of the best immigration systems in the world.