How could Ottawa let things get this far?

Canadian residents and passport holders in the UAE have come out against the proposed imposition of advance visa requirement for visits to the Gulf country.

However, most of their anger has been directed against Ottawa, which they believe has mishandled the situation and allowed it to get this far.

They fear that Canadian expats in the UAE and their families back in Canada will be the ones who will have to bear the brunt of the fallout from the continuing differences between the UAE and Canada.

“This move will have grave consequences,” said a Canadian passport holder, who did not wish to be identified. “It is not just a matter of a visa facility, things are probably much deeper,” he said.

The expat’s wife, two sons and daughter live in Toronto, while the father manages his business from Dubai.

Since Canada eased immigration a few years ago, it has seen a significant influx of immigrants from the Gulf, almost all of whom are expats working in the GCC.

Many have moved on to settle in Canada, several have returned to their jobs in the Gulf after not finding equivalent work in Canada -- and a significant number continue to work in the Gulf holding Canadian residency or passports, while their families stay on in Canada.

“Family bonds are maintained by people like me with frequent visits to each other,” said a person holding Canadian residency.

“I can go to Canada anytime with my permanent resident card, while my family members, who already have Canadian passports, can come and visit me any time in Sharjah as they could get a visa on arrival.

“But now things have changed. My son has decided to work during the Christmas break and was planning to take his leave in January to come and visit me. He can still do that. But now I believe he will have to go to Ottawa to get the visa, spending time and money and hassle that earlier was not required.”

The Sharjah resident’s family lives in Waterloo. Ottawa, the capital of Canada where the UAE embassy is located, is some 450 kilometres away.  It is not yet clear if Canadian passport holders can avail of the UAE visa facility by post.

“Even if it were, I do not want my son’s passport to be sent via Canada Mail. Things are known to have got lost,” he said.

The common theme among those Canadian expats interviewed by Emirates 24|7 was that the visa issue and other preceding issues such as the BlackBerry and airline landing rights issues, will snowball into a major problem for the Stephen Harper government.

“How could they let things get this far? I am sure questions will be asked. This is not going to die down for the government in Ottawa. I will ask my family to question our local representative,” pointed out another Canadian.

“There is a lot of movement between the two countries, which was helped by the visa on arrival facility in the UAE. We do understand that this is a privilege we enjoyed and that the UAE has full rights to impose a visa requirement as Ottawa does,” said another Canadian expat, whose daughters are studying in Canada.

“However, we appeal to both governments to reach an amicable solution. Many families are separated with some members living in Canada and some here in the UAE. For the benefit of these people, we hope that the issue gets sorted out.”

The businessman pointed out that of late, there has been a surge in business ties with Canada.

“Ease of travel helps promote better business. Both Ottawa and Abu Dhabi should be finding ways to boost communication and transport links between the two countries,” he added.

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