Canada has come up with a bill which has left millions of Indians in jitters. It has been proposed that the authorities will be bestowed with the power to ask people with temporary visas to leave the country. The authorities will also have the power to cancel a permanent visa and not issue any further visas.
According to a CBC News report, the decision is being made for Indian and Bangladeshi citizens. Canada will also seek the support of the U.S. administration in this regard.
The bill is significant as it has been proposed amid reports that 74% of visas for Indian students were cancelled by the Canadian authorities. Ties between India and Canada have deteriorated since the Justin Trudeau regime.
The Canadian Immigration Minister said that the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Department, the Canada Border Services Agency, and American authorities will work unitedly over the proposal. However, the bill is facing strong opposition, and people have started staging protests against it. It has also been proposed that the authorities will have the right to cancel visas even during a pandemic or war in the country.
Canada’s Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that the decision is not against any particular country. She stated that the bill has been tabled in Parliament and that the Mark Carney government is trying to get it passed. Around 300 civil society groups have raised concerns about the bill. People associated with these groups say that the government may misuse its powers and deport people in the future.
It has been learnt that the number of people visiting Canada has increased significantly. In 2023, 500 people had applied, but the number rose to 2,000 in July 2024.
