Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing questions about his visit to St. Kitts and Nevis and whether he made any commitments to lift visa restrictions imposed on the Federation.
Two Canadian politicians have written to Canada’s Foreign Minister seeking clarification on the matter, after the St Kitts Nevis Observer newspaper reported that St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris and Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Brantley had raised the visa issue with Mr. Trudeau.
A Tuesday press release from Canada’s Conservative Party states
” Official Opposition Foreign Affairs Critic Tony Clement, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Critic Michelle Rempel, today wrote to Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion asking if Prime Minister Trudeau made any commitments to lift visas on St. Kitts and Nevis residents during his recent visit.”
Clement and Rempel said Canadian Border Services, immigration officials and foreign affairs officials, as well as the media, noted attempts by Iranian nationals using St. Kitts passports to enter Canada.
“The policy of imposing visas on St. Kitts and Nevis residents in November 2014 was not done lightly by our government, ” they asserted.
” In some cases, it was noted that Syrian nationals had attempted the same. And in other cases involving the United States Treasury Department, Iranian nationals under contract to the regime in Tehran were using St. Kitts passports to launder millions of dollars for the mullahs in Tehran,” Clement and Remsel charged.
“It is vitally important for the strength of our sanctions policy against the Iranian regime, one of the world’s greatest offenders of human rights, that policies which preserve Canada’s strength and security are not weakened. That is why Canadians need to know just what key policy commitments Prime Minister Trudeau may have made to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts.”
Mr. Trudeau spent 10 days in the Federation vacationing on Nevis with his family. Foreign Affairs Minister Brantley told WINN FM that he and Prime Minister Harris were afforded two opportunities to interact with Mr. Trudeau on the understanding that it was not a state visit or official visit. ”
We met on two occasions. On his arrival he was greeted by the Prime Minister and myself and again on his departure we were able to say goodbye to him, ” Mr. Brantley said He added: ” We were able to raise various issues and the Prime Minister specifically raised the issue of visa waiver with him. I believe that nothing more could have been done save what was done, which was to raise it and to indicate that we will be following up at the diplomatic level with Canada in relation to this particular matter. “