Consul General of Saint Lucia in Canada, Mr. Henry Mangal, has expressed elation at the announcement on June 6, 2023, by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship – Hon Sean Fraser – granting conditional visa-free access to nationals of Saint Lucia and twelve (12) other countries, including OECS and CARICOM neighbours Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Commenting on this development on Choice Television’s “State of the Nation” programme, with Calixte George, on the same night of the announcement, CG Mangal applauded the move, as a step in the right direction by the Canadian Government, towards reversing the unnecessary hardships and hassles created by the sudden imposition of visas, in September 2012, on nationals of Saint Lucia and other OECS countries. Consul General Mangal, who from day one of his appointment in January 2022 put the issue of returning to visa-free access squarely on the agenda, has given full accolades to CARICOM Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, including Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and External Affairs Minister Alva Baptiste, who met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in The Bahamas, on 16th February 2023. At that meeting, CARICOM Prime Ministers, led by Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves, of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, strongly urged the Canadian Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau) to reverse the unjust visa policy imposed by his predecessor, on Caribbean nations, and restore the historical legacy of close relations between Canada and the Caribbean, cemented by the PM’s own father – former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
In his response to CARICOM leaders at the meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, gave the undertaking that “in the coming days, Canada would announce new measures to simplify access to trusted travelers”. On behalf of the Government and people of Saint Lucia, CG Mangal welcomed the announcement on Tuesday, and acknowledged and applauded Prime Minister Trudeau for delivering on his promise to CARICOM leaders, one hundred and ten (110) days after he gave his word. According to CG Mangal, hundreds of Saint Lucians will benefit from these new measures and so, Saint Lucia must be grateful to the Government of Canada, for taking this positive step.
However, CG Mangal, in his capacity as Chair of the Caribbean Consular Corps, immediately expressed concern, at the non-inclusion of the other two (2) OECS nations – Dominica and Grenada – in the list of eligible countries – and the omission was rectified two (2) days later, with an announcement by Canada’s High Commissioner to Barbados and the OECS, Her Excellency Lilian Chatterjee. Consul General Mangal also noted that in such matters, Canada would invariably act in its national interest which at this time requires an inviting immigration policy to advance its economic objectives, in Tourism and other sectors. Therefore, he indicated that Saint Lucia and other Caribbean countries need to be very vigilant and persistent in pushing for the restoration of open immigration between Canada and the Caribbean based on the historical relationship of friendship, trust, and non-discrimination.
CG Mangal has called for continued and sustained advocacy for full visa-free access, as there are thousands of Saint Lucians for whom the current hassles will remain, since they have not had a previous Canadian visa nor do they currently have a US visa. The Government of Saint Lucia and its various agencies including the Consulate General of Saint Lucia in Canada are committed to the relentless pursuit of this goal, both at the national and regional levels.
