Canada issues apology for visa row

The Canadian government has issued an apology for denying visas to people from India who served in the nation’s intelligence and security forces citing human rights violations as the reason.

The statement that was issued by the Canadian minister for citizenship and immigration Jason Kenney said that his government regretted the incident and mentioned that the letters which were drafted by officials of the Canadian consulate as part of the routine visa refusal process had cast “false aspersions” on the work done by Indian security institutions. It was also admitted that the Indian security forces worked as per the guidelines set according to democratic processes and followed the rule of law. The statement clarified that the language used in the letter or the inaccurate impression created by it was not reflective of the Canadian government’s views or policy on the matter. The minister also added that Canada held India, its institutions and its processes in high regard. It was promised in the statement that Canada would review its immigration policy and rules following the issue.

India’s Foreign Affairs minister S M Krishna reacted to the apology and said that they had received a copy of the statement from Canada and now considered the visa denial issue as a closed chapter.  He said that it was his belief that the Canadian government had become aware of its mistake.

The apology was issued after the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Canadian High Commissioner and threatened to deny visas to members of the Canadian security forces as well.

The diplomatic row between India and Canada began when reports of the Canadian High Commission denying visas to more than a dozen Indian nationals who were retired from or serving in the armed forces and intelligence departments appeared in the media. The reasons that were reportedly given for the visa denial included human rights violations and engagement in violence. An intelligence officer who was a member of the team being sent to Canada ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to Ottawa to attend the G-20 summit, was also issued a different kind of visa as opposed to the normal one.