polonus5
22.02.08, 18:36
Ottawa to drop demand of visas for Polish visitors
From Friday's Globe and Mail
February 22, 2008
OTTAWA — Polish citizens will soon no longer need visas to visit
Canada, a source in Ottawa said.
According to the source, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane
Finley will announce next week that Canada is lifting the visa
requirement for Polish citizens - something that Polish Canadian
groups have spent years advocating.
"They're saying, 'We're a Western liberal democracy, we're with you
in Afghanistan ... why are we not being treated like other
countries?' " the source said.
A spokesperson with Citizenship and Immigration Canada did not
confirm that an announcement is imminent.
The lifting of visa requirements for Polish citizens would be the
latest in a series of such changes in Canadian visa policies for
Eastern European countries. In late October of last year, Ms. Finley
announced that citizens of the Czech Republic and the Republic of
Latvia no longer require a temporary resident visa to visit Canada.
(On the other hand, citizens of such countries as Hungary, Romania
and Bulgaria do require visas.)
In all, about 50 countries are exempt from Canadian visa
requirements.
The relationship between Canada and Poland came into the public
spotlight late last year, after the death of Polish national Robert
Dziekanski in Vancouver. Mr. Dziekanski died within minutes of being
tasered at Vancouver International Airport last October. His death
sparked myriad inquiries in Canada, and prompted Canada's ambassador
to Poland, David Preston, to express his "deep sympathy" to Polish
officials.
Poland is Canada's largest economic partner in Central and Eastern
Europe, with more than $1.2-billion in annual trade.
As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the country
has also dispatched more than 1,000 troops to Afghanistan.
