Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - February 2010
The preliminary data is in, in light of the government’s recent decision to impose visa restrictions on all Mexican visitors to Canada, and the reviews are mixed.
Predictably, the intended consequence of lowering Mexican asylum claims has been felt, as the number of refugee claimants lowered from 1,035 last June to 158 last December.
However, critics are quick to point out that the tourism industry has felt its own share of consequences, and not in a positive light either. There have been about half as many Mexican tourists to Canada since the new regulation was imposed, which equalled to approximately 35,000 less visitors between October and December of last year.
What is just as worrisome to many analysts is the effect the visa restriction is having on Canada’s diplomatic relationship with a member in one of its strongest trade alliances. Last fall, after the new regulation was announced, a Mexican official wishing to vacation in Quebec and Ontario was denied a visitor visa to Canada. Mexico retaliated by imposing their own visa requirement.
The government’s so-called solution to the refugee backlog is sparking heavy criticism, because measures such as the visa restriction, imposed on both Mexican and Czech citizens, are likely to be reversed once the backlog clears, thus providing only a temporary solution to a problem inherent in Canada’s system.
Critics are also quick to point out that, despite many allegedly illegitimate claims from Mexico, over 500 refugee claims from the country were granted in 2009, so there may indeed be justification in keeping Canada’s doors open to suffering Mexican citizens.
It will not be easy to fix Canada’s ailing refugee system, and certainly no one group has all of the answers. However, little movement has been made on the issue since these visa restrictions were implemented last summer. In the meantime, our international reputation and our vast tourism industry are suffering from the government’s hesitation to move forward.
Source: National Post
