Hour after hour on Thursday, a steady flow of people came around the side of a nondescript building in Surrey, B.C., holding brown folders and stacks of paperwork. A lone security guard cracked the door below a sign for BLS International, just enough to speak quietly with people outside.
The agency, which typically processes visa requests for India, was busy through the morning after the Indian government suspended visa services for citizens of Canada — another step in a diplomatic conflict which is now trickling down to affect everyday people.
Many of the people waiting on Thursday had appointments and were looking for answers, despite the suspension.
“It’s a very complex situation, but if we cannot travel, we are the ones who are going to suffer, not the diplomats,” said Manbir Singh, who is trying to get his paperwork squared away before travelling to India for family weddings in November and January.
Other have more urgent needs, he said: “There are also people who don’t have [health] coverage here who might want to go back to India for better service.
“Those are the people who are going to suffer the most.”
People are pictured in line at the BLS International visa office in Surrey, B.C, on Thursday, as would-be travellers scrambled to get answers about their paperwork to visit India. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Many visiting the agency said they were increasingly on edge over the deepening conflict between Canada and India. The suspension means that Canadians who don’t already have visas will not be able to travel to India until services resume.
The conflict “has left us all distraught,” said Santosh Sandhu, who has already paid for flights in October but couldn’t get an answer from BLS on Thursday about whether her visa will come through.
Some were reluctant to speak to reporters, worried an interview would negatively affect their applications, but agreed visa delays at this time of year mostly affect people travelling for health or events like weddings and the Diwali festival later in the fall.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the first day of the five-day long special session in New Delhi, India, on Monday. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)
“Whenever we deal with international disputes, it’s the ordinary people who find themselves caught in the crossfire,” said immigration lawyer Raj Sharma.
“That disapora is now stranded in Canada.”
Sharma said the visa suspension will effectively freeze aspects of tourism, business, trade and international study
Canada-India relationship plummets
Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic partners in security and trade, dropped to their lowest point in years this week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” the Indian government was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil in June.
India says Canada has reputation as ‘safe haven’ for terrorists, criminals
A spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, taking questions after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being linked to the killing of a Sikh leader in B.C., says Canada has a growing reputation as a safe haven for ‘terrorists, for extremists and for organized crime.’
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who had been wanted by India for years, was in June shot outside the gurdwara he led in Surrey, a city of more than half a million people east of Vancouver.
The stunning accusation from Trudeau set off tit-for-tat reactions, with the countries kicking out a diplomat each. India has forcefully denied involvement in Nijjar’s death.
Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi blamed the visa suspension, which includes visas issued in third countries, on safety issues.
“Security threats being faced by our High Commission and consulates in Canada have disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, they are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” Bagchi told reporters.
“We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis.”
He gave no details on the alleged threats.
BLS has locations in other cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Brampton, Ont.
Roughly 80,000 Canadian tourists visited India in 2021, making them the fourth-largest group, according to India’s Bureau of Immigration.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
EDMONTON – The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that assistant general manager Brad Holland is leaving the club.
The move comes almost three months after the departure of former Oilers general manager Ken Holland, Brad’s father.
Oilers chief executive officer and president of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said in a statement that Brad Holland and the team parted ways so Holland could “explore other opportunities.”
Holland, 43, joined the Oilers as a scout in 2019. He was promoted to assistant GM in July 2022.
He had a hand in building the team that advanced to Game 7 of the 2023-24 Stanley Cup final before losing to the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers hired former Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to replace Ken Holland on July 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are placing Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move. Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four games with the designation.
He was hurt in the third quarter of a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills on a play where he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. He ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.
Players from both teams immediately motioned that Tagovailoa was hurt, and as he lay on the turf the quarterback exhibited some signs typically associated with a traumatic brain injury. He remained down on the field for a couple of minutes, got to his feet and walked to the sideline.
Tagovailoa this week began the process of consulting neurologists about his health. He was diagnosed with two concussions in 2022 and one while in college at Alabama.
