OTTAWA, July 9, 2013 - The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) now have an example where Canadian officials are telling people, in writing, not to travel to Canada.  TIAC has received a copy of a written response sent by Immigration Section at the Canadian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia telling those requesting Canadian visitor visas to take their business elsewhere. (see attached) 

"For your information, Canadian External Service officials are presently on strike. All Canadian visa offices in the world are working with reduced capacity and the processing times of visa requests are uncertain for the moment. As such we recommend that you look at other options for your trip that do not include a stop in Canada." (translated text of message from Canadian Embassy in Bogata, Colombia)

"The job of Canadian officials working abroad is to serve the interests of Canadians. For these same people to be brazenly dissuading potential travellers from visiting Canada is outrageous and undermines the economic interests and livelihoods of small business owners and hard working Canadians," stated David Goldstein, President and CEO of TIAC.

As Canada enters the second month of a strike action by federal public service union employees responsible for issuing visitor visas at Canadian missions abroad, TIAC has estimated that the cost to the Canadian travel and tourism sector alone will be upwards of $280 million this year.

In previous years Canada has experienced double-digit, year-over-year growth in visitation from this region. Beyond tourism, other sectors such as colleges and universities are in a crucial period for processing foreign student visas for the Fall session.

"This is the first real test of this government's Federal Tourism Strategy. There has not been any public discussion of back to work legislation or allowances for replacement workers to process visa applications. To date the stand-off tactics from both sides are proving quite costly to the Canadian economy," added Goldstein.

The federal government has made South America a key economic priority, signing numerous Open Skies and Free Trade Agreements in the region including Colombia. These agreements require temporary travel permits to be processed without undue delay.  "Despite all of the previous announcements, trips and fanfare to the contrary, Canada's inaction on this important issue is cause for the world to question if we are in fact open for business?," concluded Goldstein.

  - 30 -

For more information, please contact:

Rob Taylor

Tourism Industry Association of Canada
rtaylor@tiac.travel
(t) 613-238-6251
(c) 613-716-5442 

Attachment

Begin forwarded message:

From: FREDDY ARIEL MORENO MALDONADO
Date: 4 July, 2013 4:51:25 PM EDT
To: David Goldstein Cc: AEROLÍNEA <grupos.aircanada@paxcgogsa.com>
Subject: FW: VISA DE TRÁNSITO

Datos de correo embajada canadiens

Cordialmente,
Freddy Ariel Moreno Maldonado

Director General

FAMA FOLCLOR COLOMBIANO

Calle 31 N. 10-94

Tunja- Boyacá- Colombia

WWW.FAMAFOLCLORCOLOMBIANO.JIMDO.COM

Subject: RE: VISA DE TRÁNSITO
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 08:44:55 -0500
From: re-immigration.bogota@international.gc.ca
To: FREDDY ARIEL MORENO MALDONADO

Buenos días,

Los ciudadanos colombianos requieren de una visa para hacer tránsito en Canadá. Este tipo de visa no tiene costo, pero es necesario presentar una solicitud completa de forma similar a quienes solicitan una visa de turismo.

Mayor información está disponible en Inglés en la página: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp?country=Colombia

O puede consultar también la sección de 'Visas e inmigración' de la página de la Embajada de Canadá en Bogotá: http://www.colombia.gc.ca

Para su información, los oficiales del Servicio Exterior Canadiense se encuentran actualmente en huelga. Todas las oficinas de visas canadienses en el mundo se encuentran trabajando con una capacidad reducida y los tiempos de trámite de las solicitudes de visa son inciertos por el momento. De manera que le recomendamos buscar otras opciones para su viaje que no incluyan una parada en Canadá.

Cordialmente,

Immigration Section | Section d'immigration | Sección de inmigración - 28
Canadian Embassy | Ambassade du Canada | Embajada de Canadá
Carrera 7 # 114 - 33 Piso 13 Bogotá, Colombia
Website | site web | sitio web:www.colombia.gc.ca    www.cic.gc.ca

Gouvernement du Canada | Government of Canada 

 Translation: For your information, Canadian External Service officials are presently on strike. All Canadian visa offices in the world are working with reduced capacity and the processing times of visa requests are uncertain for the moment. As such we recommend that you look at other options for your trip that do not include a stop in Canada.

From: FREDDY ARIEL MORENO MALDONADO
Sent: June 24, 2013 5:18 PM
To: BGOTA (IMMIGRATION)
Subject: FW: VISA DE TRÁNSITO

Buenos días

Soy director de un grupo de danzas que va a representar a Colombia en FESTIVALES INTERNACIONALES DEL FOLCLOR EN CHINA Y COREA DEL 17 DE SEPTIEMBRE AL 15 DE OCTUBRE. Nuestra agencia nos envía con AIR CANADA, con el siguiente itinerario

ITINERARIO*

VUELO FECHA RUTA HR. SALE HR. LLEGA

AC 963 17SEP13 BOGOTA-TORONTO 14:30 21:35

AC 31 18SEP13 TORONTO- BEIJING 14:55 16:05

TRAMO CON OTRA AEROLINEA O VIA TERRESTRE

AC 62 14OCT13 INCHEON-TORONTO 18:30 18:10

AC 962 15OCT13 TORONTO-BOGOTA 08:10 13:00

*Este itinerario corresponde a los horarios y números de vuelo que expresa el sistema a la fecha no corresponde a confirmación ni bloqueo de las sillas

Podría por favor informarme si es necesario que saquemos visa de tránsito, o  sólo  presentando las cartas de invitación de china y corea y la visa de china para hacer el tránstio, o cuál sería el lineamiento para hacer el tránsito en CANADÁ con estas condiciones

Gracias por la respuesta