PRESS RELEASE
Ottawa, July 21, 2021 - In a letter in Spanish to the people of Mexico, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette has apologized for the decision by Canada’s minority Reform-Conservative government to impose a visa requirement on Mexican visitors.
“On behalf of the Canadians who do not support their government’s extreme-right policies (including a majority of the members of the Parliament of Canada), I want to say how deeply I regret this decision and to apologize for it” Senator Hervieux-Payette writes. She is also the former president and founding member of the Interparliamentary Forum of the Americas.
“A visa requirement is entirely unacceptable. It erects an intolerable administrative wall between our two countries.”
The Senator, who is also a founding member and former president of the Interparliamentary Forum of the Americas, deplores the effect of the Conservative government’s ideology on Canada’s reputation abroad:
“In the name of its extreme-right ideology, its partisan, campaign-style decisions and demagoguery have rapidly spilled over our borders, tarnishing our country’s image more and more every year,” her letter continues.
Before concluding with an assurance to Mexicans that they are always welcome in Canada, Senator Hervieux-Payette says she is confident that the situation is merely “a blip in our bilateral relations.”
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