The act of not granting visas to visitors is criticized sharply

The organizers of various conventions that were held in Quebec City are criticizing Citizenship and Immigration Canada for what has happened.

More than fifty participants at the “Librarians Without Borders” conference were denied visa in spite of the fact that all of them had return tickets with them. They also had letters of recommendation from their organizers in Canada and also form the organizers in their home countries. However, this was not enough to allow them into the country. These people were from countries such as Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria.

NDP critic for Citizenship and Immigration, Olivia Chow said that visa officers have got unrestricted power to decide on whom to let in. He said that their decisions are completely arbitrary and there is no appeal processed as of now, regarding the denied applications. However, he said that the now, it is the responsibility of the visa officers to prove that these people would not have left the country after getting their visas.

NDP candidate in the Westmount-Ville-Mare by election, Anne Lagace said that this is yet another example that reflects that there lack of transparency and accountability in the visa-granting system. He added that they are calling for an appeals process that would ensure fairness, similar to what the Australia and United Kingdom has.