Caribbean News Now!

By Caribbean News Now contributor

OTTAWA, Canada -- Beginning on Tuesday, citizens of St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines now require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced.

For the first 48 hours, or until 11:59 pm on September 12, citizens of these countries who are in transit to Canada at the time the visa requirement takes effect will be able to receive a temporary resident permit on arrival in Canada, free of charge, if they are not otherwise inadmissible to Canada.

Canada's Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney

“We continue to welcome genuine visitors to Canada,” said Kenney. “However, these visa requirements will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada.”

This change will allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and its partners to screen more travellers for security risks prior to their arrival in Canada. This will help significantly reduce the risk that individuals engaged in organized crime or the trafficking of persons could gain entry to Canada.

A key reason why the Canadian government has imposed visa requirements on St Lucia and St Vincent is unreliable travel documents. In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports. In some instances, people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports

“These requirements will better protect the safety of Canadians by preventing foreign criminals from coming to Canada in the first place,” said Kenney.

Canada regularly reviews its visa requirements toward other countries. Countries are aware that they have a responsibility to satisfy certain conditions to receive a visa exemption.

This visa policy change means that nationals from St Lucia and St Vincent who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a visitor visa and meet the requirements to receive one.

It is up to applicants to satisfy visa officers that their visit to Canada is temporary and they will not overstay their authorized stay; have enough money to cover their stay; are in good health; do not have a criminal record; and are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.

Applicants from St Lucia and St Vincent can now submit their applications by mail or in person to the Canadian visa office in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. In the months ahead travellers to Canada will be able to apply online for all temporary visas.

This decision will further strengthen Canada’s immigration and asylum systems, and it complements the measures the government is implementing this year under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, which recently received Royal Assent, and those proposed in Bill C-43, the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act.

“The government of Canada remains committed to preserving the security of our borders and immigration system, and to protecting the safety of Canadians,” said Kenney.

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Ian Francis,Toronto:

CHARTING THROUGH OTTAWA’S RIGHT WING AGENDA AND SLAMMERING THE HAMMER ON LEAST DEVELOPED STATES IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY:

The Harper Conservative right wing agenda has been in play for several years but many Afro Canadians and Caribbean Canadians have chosen to ignore it. Now that it has intensify and the “Roaring Lion” awakens from his rest, his attendants and chaperons like Jason Kenney, Vic Toews and John Baird are ensuring that the Lion stays in his den but is afforded the treatment, care and support by the three bullish and front line attendants.

The Lion’s interest ranges from Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Public Safety and other critical areas that admonish and berate certain groups in Canada and the global community rogues, terrorists, human traffickers and other negative connotations that whip up bigotry and racism.

For the last five (5) years, the Government of Canada under Ministers Kenney and Finley embarked upon immigration and labour market changes which had a direct hit on people from especially the Caribbean Commonwealth region. On immigration, Kenney has laid out his rule visitors from Grenada, Saint. Lucia, Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to have non-immigrant visas before visiting, While it is the right of Canada to institute visitor visa requirements, it is very interesting that most of the affected countries are populations of African descent. In the most recent policy change for visitors, apart from St. Vincent, St. Lucia, there is Swaziland, Botswana and Naimbia.The targeting of these Afro descent nations is very interesting as the doors for Irish, Polish and other Caucasian nations are opening up.

Therefore, these leave many to express concerns about the Harper’s government likelihood of embarking upon a policy reversal that is exclusive and not inclusive as Diefenbaker had established.

The Harper policy shift of exclusion will definitely create several economic spats. For example, St. Lucian visitors to Canada who came in drove to visit relatives across Canada always selected Air Canada or West Jet as their carrier. Vincentians also had a penchant for West Jet but Air Canada got its fair share of travel business. Greater economic impact will also be felt by local travel agencies as well as on tourism in various cities. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done on such a racist policy implementation. My immediate observation is the Afro Canadian and Caribbean Community does not have any public policy clout or influence in Canada so no one from the administration will listen. The institutional linkages between Canada and the region are so weak that the only concerns are handouts and completion of the Caribbean Trade Negotiations.

Finley’s tinkering with the labour market programs is directly related to the large surplus that has been created in the Employment Insurance Liability Fund. Labour Market and Financial Analysts have estimated the fund to be in the billions and growing. The Conservatives cost cutting strategy includes the layoff of public servants; employment insurance benefits denial, restructuring of workers entitlement to benefits and forcing workers into seasonal employment that they cannot do which is often time picked up by Caribbean and Mexican off shore workers.

This Conservative cost cutting measures are mean and are creating surmountable barriers to employers including farmers who rely heavily on off shore labour. Human Resources Canada change of policies will result in less foreign workers coming to Canada to harvest crops and at the same time earn a little more to assist families at home. Ontario has had access to a wide range of Caribbean workers who are recruited for employment in various occupations. With the mean and oppressive policy changes, Ottawa will now be able to dictate and call the shots regarding labour market shortages. If you can’t pick apples and cherries, then you will not get benefits.

The Harper Tough on Crime legislation managed by Public Security Minister Vic Toews is also very tough on the Afro Canadians and Caribbean Canadian people.

While there is no doubt that the nation’s penal institutions are having a greater intake of residents that reflect persons of colour, the various pieces of legislation have no doubt created a greater perception about criminality by racial minorities; tougher sentences in the courts on Caribbean immigrants who have not yet acquired their citizenship status and could easily face the wrath of deportation. In essence, racial minorities, especially those with novel and distinct features are feeling the pressure.

But this is not all, there is a Sussex Drive pit-bull located in the Foreign Affairs building who carries the name John Baird. He is considered to be very green and inexperience in foreign affairs. However, he is deeply committed to ensuring that the “Roaring Lion” is alive his availability to groom the Lion is his top priority.

Baird’s attack on Iran has now led to the severing of diplomatic relations. As a writer in this medium, I have always found Iran’s approach to Israel to be incorrect and racist. Israel like any other nation has the right to exist and should not be constantly harassed by Iran with extinction. It is wrong and I join with Canada and other peace-loving nations in condemning Iran.

At the same time the Harper administration has inflicted irreparable damage to its once independent, admired and respected policy. Unfortunately, Harper and Baird have joined into the Republican Foreign Policy Ghetto that notable persons like Colin Powell and Jim Baker are ducking from.

Canada has changed for immigrants from an inclusive to an exclusive nation. It has been changed because of the Harper, Kenney, Baird, Finley and Toews mean and selfish policies.

Rob Elder:

Canada will U every learn, still there is major problems with Canadians in the UAE because of a senseless ruling over Emirates airline which would have made flying cheaper

Now it's the Carribean under attack

Next Canadians will need visa for all the Caribbean WAY @ GO CANADA POLOTICIANS U BUNCH OF LOOSERS

Peter:

He told us that he is here to finish the work of Maurice Bishop, he convinced the Grenadian government to rename Grenada's airport 'The Maurice Bishop International Airport'.

In return he paid Vincentian taxpayers money to the Grenadian government, $5 million to pay their employees pay rise. Can that be right when our public service workers are being underpaid, even paid late, sometimes weeks and months after due date.

He promised to pay a 3% pay rise to the VINCENTIAN Public Sector in January 2010. Told them on four occasions he did not have the money. Yet he had $5 million dollars to subscribe towards finishing the work of Maurice Bishop.

Is this the way MARXIST's work? Is this what the working people of SVG expect, is it what they deserve. After supporting him in three general elections, do they deserve such treatment?

In 2010, a bag full of cash, US dollars turned up at the NCB bank, a million US to be exact, or there about. The bank was asked to change the money into EC$s, after due consideration the called his relative and told him to take the US$s away, refusing to change it. Days and weeks afterwards ULP relatives and friends began turning up at banks with smaller sums of US money and banking it. ULP government official walked about with a huge roll of US$ bills in his pocket, removing it occasionally to pay bills in bars and shops.

If any of us banked large amounts which we do not usually bank of US cash, the bank would call the police on us.

Is this the way MARXIST’s work? Is this what the working people of SVG expect, is it what they deserve. After supporting him in three general elections, do they deserve such treatment?

There are children unable to go to school because they have no food, no bus fares, no uniform’s, no books, WHY? because their parents have no money. Yet all that money being shared between people who already have money and jobs, that million dollar share out.

Is this the way MARXIST’s work? Is this what the working people of SVG expect, is it what they deserve. After supporting him in three general elections, do they deserve such treatment?

He signed a contract with teachers union, told the teachers it was the best contract the ever had. When teachers tried to enforce parts of the contract he told them it was unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.

He told the teachers they were only a few and if the didn’t vote for him it would not affect the outcome of any election, ULP would still be elected.

Is this the way MARXIST’s work? Is this what the working people of SVG expect, is it what they deserve. After supporting him in three general elections, do they deserve such treatment?

WAKE UP PEOPLE AND SMELL THE SULPHUR

Peter:

We must remember that the Canadians have been watching SVG for some time. Starting with GONSALVES being charged by two women of sex crimes, one being a Canadian attorney. GONSALVES has been accused by at least three other women of sex matters. Yet he has never been put before a court to answer such accusations.

Since the Canadian lady laid charges against GONSALVES for sex crimes, he has never been to Canada. He has been invited by Canadian Vincentians, but has chosen not to visit the country since.

GONSALVES took us into ALBA, a MARXIST -LENINIST organization.

GONSALVES has aligned us with IRAN the most despised country in the Middle East, a country that is looking for war with Israel, a country that is looking to build nuclear weapons. A country who only last week Canada cut off diplomatic relations, sending home the Iranians from Canada and bringing back Canadian diplomats. They have closed the Iranian embassy.

GONSALVES and the UNITY LABOUR PARTY have created a situation in SVG where more than half of the population have no employment. Creating an environment where Vincentians try and get to another country, just to be able to work and provide for their families.

Under GONSALVES and the UNITY LABOUR PARTY, rape and serious crime is out of control.

Under GONSALVES police officer convicted of serious crime are reemployed to beat and torture the Vincentian youth.

GONSALVES was adamant about removing legislation that controlled the police 'PACE', this was like giving the police a license to torture our citizens.

Vincentian women are raped, beaten, chopped up with cutlass, then running for safety to Canada. GONSALVES and other jerks like Dr. BYRON-COX told the Canadians that this just wasn't true and this was a major influence in the decision taken by the Canadians in.

THE BANNING OF VINCENTIANS TRAVELLING TO CANADA WITHOUT VISAS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF GONSALVES AND THE UNITY LABOUR PARTY, WITH INPUTS FROM PEOPLE LIKE Dr. BYRON-COX WHO CANADIANS PERHAPS WRONGLY BELIEVE IS A CREDIBLE PERSON.

Peter:

I believe that our association with Iran has had a great influence on the Visa problem.

Iran is an ally of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Gonsalves joined SVG to the ALBA, ALBA supports Iran and partners with it in several projects. Such as the ALBA military Academy in Bolivia, where the trainers are partly the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

TEHRAN, July 31 (MNA) – Three flights in a week have been put on schedule between Iran and Venezuela, Reza Jafarzadeh the Public Relations Officer at the Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) said here on Monday.

An agreement on the establishment of air transportation between Iran and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was inked by Rezaii Niaraki, the acting director of the CAO and his Venezuelan counterpart, Jafarzadeh said.

A scheduled flight weekly has been established between Caracas, Venezuela and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has become a major distribution point for the cocaine business emanating from Venezuela.

In 2001 a man called Morgan, a Vincentian Canadian, was granted a diplomatic passport by prime minister Ralph E. Gonsalves. Morgan was neither a diplomat nor worked for the SVG government. In 2004 using the same passport he was arrested at a London airport carrying one kilo of cocaine in his luggage.

Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves was accused of sexual crime by at least five woman, which included rape. Yet has never been before a court to answer some of these accusations that actually resulted in charges being brought against him. One of the women was a Canadian human right attorney, she said Gonsalves locked his office door and attacked her. Since these accusations Gonsalves has never been to Canada, previously he had been a frequent visitor.

HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 10 MARRIED IN IRAN.

Iran has experienced a dramatic growth in under-age marriages that has seen the number of girls being wed before the age of 10 double in the space of a year, officially-compiled figures have revealed.

Sharia law states that females can be married as young as nine, a 2002 ruling by the powerful Expediency Council laid down that girls below 13 and boys younger than 15 could only wed with their father's consent and the permission of a court.

"We must regard nine as being the appropriate age for a girl to have reached puberty and qualified to get married," Mr. Asfenani, chairman of the parliamentary legal and judiciary committee said. "To do otherwise would be to contradict and challenge Islamic Sharia law."

Nine year old girls married to men of 50 and 60 years of age, are expected to have sex and have babies, many immature girls die during childbirth.

Iran and Venezuela are feverishly building ICBM bases on the Paraguana Peninsula, a thumbnail shaped spit of arid land around a thousand square miles in size, 250 miles northwest of Caracas. These bases are designed to house missiles with nuclear tipped warheads capable of reaching large portions of the United States.

From the Jerusalem Post ;

(Reuters) - Venezuela is building unmanned drone aircraft as part of military cooperation with Iran and other allies, President Hugo Chavez said, in a move likely to heighten U.S. anxiety over his socialist government's role in the region.

Referring to a Spanish media report that U.S. prosecutors are investigating drone production in Venezuela, Chavez said late on Wednesday: "Of course we're doing it, and we have the right to. We are a free and independent country."

November 2008 contract between a Venezuelan state-run firm, CVG Minerven, and the Iranian government firm Impasco grants the Iranians a "gold mine" concession in the heart of the Roraima basin in the southeastern state of Bolivar, which sits along the Venezuela-Guyana border. Although gold mining in Venezuela goes back decades, the basin where the Iranians have set up is home to one of the world's largest deposits of uranium, according to a survey by the U308 Corp., a Canadian uranium exploration company.

September 21, 2010, journalists and regional experts were for the first time informed about Chavez's nuclear program and his troubling and substantial collaboration with Iran. This research -- conducted during the past 12 months by a team of experts who analyzed sensitive material obtained from sources within the Venezuelan regime -- paints a far darker picture of Chavez's intentions. Chávez has been developing the program for two years with the collaboration of Iran, a nuclear rogue state. In addition to showing the two states' cooperation on nuclear research, these documents suggest that Venezuela is helping Iran obtain uranium and evade international sanctions, all steps that are apparent violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to forestall Iran's illegal nuclear weapons program.

CANADIANS BREAK DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH IRAN.

Mr. Baird the Canadian Foreign Minister said the decision to bring home all Canadian Diplomats from Iran, coupled with an announcement expelling Iranian diplomats from Canada, reflected Ottawa’s view that Iran represented a significant threat to world peace.

CANADIAN IMPOSE VISA REQUIREMENT ON SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES.

DO YOU THINK THAT SVG MAKE GOOD PARTNERS FOR CANADA

I DON'T THINK SOoooooooooooooo

JUST THE FACTS, DR BYRON-COX, JUST THE FACTS

Peter:

GONSALVES has taken us for a ride, we are riding with the axis of evil, Iran. By association we are now part of the axis of evil.

CANADA recognized our new position in the World, as members of the 'AXIS OF EVIL' put there by a man who stated in parliament "I ONLY DO OBEAH FOR THE LORD"

WAKE UP PEOPLE AND SMELL THE SULPHUR

Simon Anderson:

PART OF PETER'S AH MEAN, BRIAN'S PROBLEM, is that the dunce knows nothing about local, regional or international politics.

As a result, he has been brain-washed and has never been able to understand the complexities of political systems.

"Where ignorance is BLISS, it is folly to be wise."

Peter:

IN 2001, GONSALVES ISSUED OR CAUSED TO BE ISSUED A DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT TO A MAN CALLED REUBEN MORGAN, HE WAS NEITHER A DIPLOMAT OR EMPLOYED BY THE SVG GOVERNMENT. SUBSEQUENTLY IN 2004, MORGAN WAS ARRESTED AT A LONDON AIRPORT CARRYING A KILO OF COCAINE IN HIS LUGGAGE, HE WAS TRAVELING ON THE VERY SAME DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT THAT GONSALVES HAD APPROVED OR ISSUED TO HIM.

Let there be no doubt unless GONSALVES approves of a diplomatic passport it cannot be issued.

I ENQUIRE WAS THIS THE FIRST AND ONLY COCAINE DELIVERY TO THE UK OR CANADA BY MORGAN? THE QUESTION HAS TO BE ASKED BECAUSE HE HAD THE PASSPORT FOR 4 YEARS BEFORE HE WAS CAUGHT.

AT THE TIME OF REUBEN MORGAN TRAVELING TO THE UK HE WAS GOING TO AN EVENT WITH A RELATIVE JUDITH JONES-MORGAN THE SVG ATTORNEY GENERAL WHO WAS TRAVELING ON A DIFFERENT FLIGHT.

In 2010, Reuben Morgan opened a Chinese restaurant with his Canadian Chinese business partner in SVG at Villa. In 2011 Morgan’s Chinese wok cooking expert said that they were going to open a casino at the new Argyle Airport, they could only do so with the blessing of GONSALVES.

The Chinese Canadian having made that statement, GONSALVES got real angry, and said he would never sanction a CASINO.

One night the Chinese restaurant closed and all the equipment moved out during the early hours of the morning. Everything was shipped out to Saint Lucia, where they have now set up business.

CAN ANY OF THE CANADIAN DIASPORIANS TELL US ABOUT THE LIFE STYLE OF REUBEN MORGAN IN CANADA, WHO ARE HIS FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES?

Now we know that GONSALVES has not been to Canada for a long time, some say since he was accused of sexual assault by a Canadian lady human rights attorney, at the SVG Financial Complex office of GONSALVES.

Are the Canadian officials also interested in why GONSALVES gave a Diplomatic passport to a Canadian citizen, a passport that was used to smuggle cocaine?

Even the US Ambassador in a WIKILEAKS document commented on the issue of dodgy passports, most likely a reference to the Morgan diplomatic passport matter.

In 2010, a bag full of cash, US dollars turned up at the NCB bank, a million US to be exact, or there about. The bank was asked to change the money into EC$s, after due consideration the called his relative and told him to take the US$s away, refusing to change it. Days and weeks afterwards ULP relatives and friends began turning up at banks with smaller sums of US money and banking it. A ULP government official walked about with a huge roll of US$ bills in his pocket, removing it occasionally to pay bills in bars and shops.

I am sure the Canadians must be aware of this, it must also be an unanswered episode for them.

GONSALVES AND THE ULP HAVE FAILED TO GIVE A CREDIBLE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, WHERE DID THAT MONEY COME FROM?

Simon Anderson:

PETER, AH MEAN BRIAN ALEXANDER, WHAT HAPPEN TO THE OTTLEY HALL MONEY?

PETER/BRIAN, what happen to PH Veira money? Why did the Police pick you up?

What happen to TOUCH money, Brian?

Like is ah money thing!?!?

Ah didn't say you thief, yuh know!

Peter:

COOeeeeeeeeeeeee! ANDERSON/WILLIAMS, are you involved in this matter, are you the safe house provider for possible terrorist occupation, dodgy passports.

Homeland Security

Here is the evidence

Citizenship and Immigration Department Canada
www.cic.gc.ca
Press Release:
A key reason why the government has imposed visa requirements on St. Lucia and St. Vincent is unreliable travel documents. In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports. In some instances, people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports.

There has also been an unacceptably high number of asylum claims from St. Lucia and St. Vincent, with about one and a half percent and three percent of the population of these countries making asylum claims in Canada over the past five years.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-09-11.asp

More to come, names of Vincentian passport holders who have Spanish, Arabic and East European names.

ANDERSON/WILLIAMS, you know very well that I am not Brian Alexander, your using his name is to inflict damage on him, you wrote "Ah didn't say you thief, yuh know!" and yes you did previously write that he stole money from the Ottley Hall project, you have written so on numerous occasions.

YOU ANDERSON ARE A THIEF, A THIEF OF THE TRUTH, REMEMBER YOUR BOSS GONSALVES SAID, "SHOW ME A LIAR AND I WILL SHOW YOU A THIEF" THAT MAKES BOTH YOU AND GONSALVES THEIVES.

ANDERSON SINCE YOU EXPOSED YOURSELF AS HORACE WILLIAMS, I AM SURE THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WAITING FOR YOU TO VISIT SVG TO SERVE YOU WITH THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTS.