Visa lift for Mexicans likely months away

A plan for how Canada will meet a promise to lift visa requirements for Mexicans will be announced later this month when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosts Mexico’s president as part of the Three Amigos summit.

But multiple sources tell The Canadian Press negotiations are still underway on whether the plan will contain a fixed date to remove the visas as Canadian officials push to link it to the implementation of new border controls still in their infancy.

“We shall see,” Immigration Minister John McCallum said when asked whether a deal will be reached by June 29.

The previous Conservative government imposed visas in 2009 to stop thousands of asylum claims being made by Mexican citizens later ruled to be unfounded.

It was a controversial decision that sparked outcry from industry and the Mexican government. The Liberals promised during the election campaign the visa would be lifted.

Pressure to do so intensified as part of Trudeau’s decision to convene the Three Amigos summit — the meeting between the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico that the Tories postponed last year.

The visa issue was among the diplomatic irritants at the time, though the Tories had promised to lift some restrictions through a new electronic travel authorization system that was supposed to take effect in March 2016, but has been delayed.