Canadian visa requirement expected to be a sore point as Calderon, Harper meet

The requirement for Mexican nationals to have a Canadian Visa to visit the country is expected to be a thorny issue in today’s meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

A Canadian government official told the Canwest News Service that the two leaders are expected to have a "pretty robust discussion" about the Canadian Visa requirement, now 10-month-old, although the two are meeting to primarily discuss the international economy.

Political commentators have predicted that while Ottawa may commit to some housekeeping measures to smooth the Canadian Visa program there is little chance of the visa being eliminated at this stage.

The Canadian visa requirement was introduced last July to cut "bogus refugee" claims after only one in 10 of the more than 9,400 refugee claims from Mexicans in 2008 were accepted.

Last month a fast-track business visa process was introduced for approved Mexican businesses to give greater ease for international trade between the two countries.

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Canadian immigration applications with the Canadian High Commission.