Canada bars festival groups

Jul 13, 2000

Organizer of the ESTO cultural program, Stella Pahapill, was angry because some of those invited to take part in a competition of young musicians were refused Canadian visas and could not come, the daily Postimees reported.

Those who did get Canadian visas had problems getting into the country. On the evening of July 7, organizers of ESTO patiently explained to representatives of the immigration service that members of the Tallinn Technical University male choir had no intention of staying in Canada, the paper wrote. Chairman of the Canadian Estonians Central Council, Laas Leivat, said the official who stopped the men on the border simply wanted to underline his importance.

Estonian Ambassador to Canada Sven Jurgensson said Canadian authorities are not paying attention to Estonians in particular, but simply the Canadian visa system is very strict, and no exceptions are made. He added that Canada is indeed a country of immigrants, and to look from the outside, one could think the border controls are weak.

"In fact, it is quite the contrary: The living standards are high, Canada has held the first place in the United Nations human development list for several years and also social benefits are considerably higher than in the neighboring United States, so they very much want to choose to whom the door will be opened," Jurgenson said.

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