QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Visa Applications
May 30, 2024
Senator Gold, on April 17 of this year, I asked you what the policy of the Government of Canada was with regard to the change made by the Canadian Hockey League, which will again allow them to start drafting players from Russia and Belarus. They imposed a ban after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. I asked what the position of the government was. Would you award visas to these hockey players? Do you happen to have an answer?
Thank you for the question, Senator Downe, and thank you for following up, but I regret that I do not have an answer at this time.
Senator Gold, you may have an answer to my second question. I asked you what the policy of the Government of Canada is with regard to awarding visas to anyone from Russia or Belarus who wants to come to Canada. Do you have that answer?
I don’t have an answer. This may not answer the specific question, but I think we would all agree that we need to draw a distinction between the actions of the governments and those responsible — in the case of Russia, for an illegal invasion of a sovereign country — and those citizens within that country. In that regard, I suspect that informs, in part, the policies to which you refer.
