Wrzesnewskyj's private members bill about visitor visas left in the lurch

Archived Articles | 20 Jan 2006 | Adu RaudkiviEWR

Borys Wrzesnewskyj, MP, took over a safe Liberal riding left vacant by former minister Allan Rock. During the next year and a half, his first term in a minority government, he did more than other members do in a lifetime. Much of what he did would benefit eastern Europeans.

During the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, he was point man between Prime Minister Paul Martin and then pro-west candidate Viktor Yuschenko, organizing the election monitors that kept the second vote honest.

One very important subject for Estonians and other eastern Europeans is the loosening of Canadian visa restrictions. At present, citizens of many Eastern European countries need a visa to visit Canada. Wrzesnewskyj is fighting against this requirement, for us.

"I had tabled a private members bill about the visitors visas for namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary that had already passed first reading and was on its way to committee stage and I was hoping that the government could announce something on that and change the regulation before the election. Unfortunately we were planning for elections. You can bet, should I have the good fortune of being re-elected, as soon I get back into the house I will look at the agenda, and when I see a slot I'm going to table that resolution once again." Unfortunately, the bill died in September.

The issue raised by "The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration" headed by Andrew Telegdi, MP (Liberal), which is fighting the deportation of individuals on the basis of Cabinet disapproval (and not the courts), is still something being fought by Wrzesnewskyj. "We would do grave injustice if we do not allow full legal process in these matters," said Wrzesnewskyj.

The battles going on in the government side of the house are often more fierce than those across the commons floor, and Wrzesnewskyj isn't shying away from the fight.

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