Amy Verma’s business depends solely on the goodwill between India and Canada.
But that relationship has soured since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in the House of Commons last week and accused the Indian government of being involved in the killing of prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia back in June.
India not only decried the claim, it suspended visa service for Canadians. Canada has issued a travel advisory for India warning of “negative sentiments” toward Canadians and protests.
Verma offers immigration services involving both countries at her Windsor office. Her company is called Earnest Immigration and Citizenship Services Inc.
Verma says she’s seen an immediate impact on her business and fears possible long-term damage.
With tensions running high between the countries, Verma says she’s been forced to halt expanding her business into India — something that’s been in the works for months, and set to take place in October.
“It’s not just that most of us will have a Canadian passport and citizenship … and maybe can get e-visas for travel — but even if we do, we are now questioning ourselves, if this is the right time to go and promote Canada,” questioned Verma. “Certainly not. We just kind of want it to die down a bit and then see what we can do about it.”
The soured relationship between Canada and India continues to impact people living in Windsor. We hear about how it’s impacting local businesses that offer immigration services involving both countries.
Verma spoke with Windsor Morning host Nav Nanwa about her situation and her feelings surrounding the turmoil between India and Canada.
Here is part of that conversation.
When you heard the prime minister’s accusation against India, did you know right then and there that there’d be a fallout impacting you and your business?
Yes, I did. Coming from India, I understood this was diplomacy at its lowest because it’s right or wrong, it’s not for us to decide.
But this was probably not the right time to put it out in the public domain.
Coming from an immigration consultancy, we do immigration services for Canada. My worry was not the temporary restrictions. My worry was the greater concern regarding this sentiment regarding Canada.
Canada being a destination of choice for most Indians, that sentiment is kind of just going south for now.
Tell me a bit more about the immediate impact this has had on your immigration service.
We were supposed to travel in the first week of October to open our Indian operations and this brick and mortar space. We were planning for it for months.
My team was travelling from Canada for the inauguration.
We had business meetings set up … we had consultations lined up. The stage was set, employers hired. I had a team hired already on payroll.
We were to be there to inaugurate it and do it in person. And now we’ve had to put that off for an indefinite period of time.
There are signs that India may be softening its stance on the allegations that Indian agents were behind the assassination of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June. There have been several instances of Indian officials saying they were open to discussions with Canada, possibly due to pressure from the U.S. and other western governments.
What are you hearing directly from some of those partners that you were dealing with, whether it be the employees that you hired or some of the agencies that you were working with in India?
They’re confused, to say the least.
They don’t want to believe the news … but they have their reasons to worry.
In any business deal, there’s a lot at stake and they cannot put things off indefinitely.
We are receiving reactions of frustration, confusion and just wanting more clarity on what we are really going from here.
It’s just more confusion than clarity at this point.– Amy Verma
Are you hearing from many other immigration companies within the area about similar concerns or similar issues that maybe they’re going through?
Yes, mostly the clients.
They have panicked as well because the day this was announced, I am sure everyone would have faced this in the business. Our phone went crazy. We had phone calls coming in from Vietnam, Philippines, India — we serve all countries … Indian nationals across the globe, not just India.
People were concerned whether this is a threat to Indians, whether this is a threat to a minority group.
It’s just more confusion than clarity at this point.
If you were to be in India right now, would you feel safe?
To be honest, I don’t know, because if someone were to ask me my nationality, then I would be scared because right now I hold a Canadian passport.
But if no one talks about my passport and citizenship, I would be safe.
But I come from a Sikh community, so maybe this rings closer to home, right? I am more scared in terms of where this would go from here. So yes and no. Both what I would say.
WATCH | India may be softening its stance on Canadian allegations of assassination:
India is telling its citizens to exercise caution when travelling to Canada while some Canadian industries worry about the economic fallout from Justin Trudeau’s accusation that the Indian government was behind the killing of a Sikh activist in British Columbia.
And your kids are Canadian citizens. I’m assuming they would have come with you?
Yes.
How are they sort of understanding the situation that’s going on right now?
Yeah, it’s difficult now.
It’s not one of the preferred conversations we want to have at the dining table.
This is a festive season in India. Most people go back home to celebrate with elders, family, extended family.
You find most people going towards India at this time.
Sometimes you don’t want to introduce the problem because it might be too much for their little minds.
They’re Indians by birth, but now Canadian by citizenship.
It’s difficult to go that path with them.
As you wait and see what happens with this situation. Are you pivoting your services in any way based on this waiting game that you’re currently in?
The best we could do, being in the business, was give more information out.
We’re making videos. We are in fact calling our existing clients, letting them know.
Telling them visas are being processed. Canada has not retaliated. Embassies are working, everything’s okay, we are safe. So would you be if you come to Canada.
Just trying to bring more positivity to the whole situation here.
What do you think the long-term implications will be for your business based on the fact that you’ve had to put things on hold?
It’s not very heartening to see what’s happening, but I have a feeling now that long term things would be better because Canada has been a destination of choice for many years now.
In fact, in 2022 we had tripled the number of people coming from India in the last 10 years.
I don’t see this doing permanent damage. But yes, temporary effects are great, but for long-term, I think it’s going to die down. It’s all going to be OK.
