Ottawa: Canada has welcomed India’s decision to resume some visa services in the country from Thursday, saying the move was a “good sign” after “an anxious time” for many Canadians, amid a diplomatic row over the killing of a Sikh separatist.
India’s high commission in Canada said on Wednesday that the country’s officials will resume processing some types of visa applications for Canadians applying from across the country as well as abroad.
The decision came a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide as tensions flared between the two nations last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
On Wednesday afternoon, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called India’s move “a good sign” after “an anxious time” for his many Canadians.
“Our feeling is that a suspension should never have happened in the first place,” he was quoted as saying by CTV News.
He said the “really concerning diplomatic situation with India has created a lot of fear in a lot of communities.” Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also a Sikh, said the resumption of visa processing is good news, but wouldn’t speculate on what message New Delhi is trying to send.
“It’s good to see that they have resumed that. It would have been nice (if) they didn’t take it in the first place,” Sajjan told reporters.
