NDC blames PM administration for visa restriction

Seven years after Canada imposed visa restrictions on Grenadians, the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is blaming the Keith Mitchell administration.



The NDC, which is campaigning for the July 8 general election, said the visa restriction underscores the damaged relations between the two countries.



Canada imposed the visa restriction in 2001, amid concerns by the United States and Canada over Grenada’s Economic Citizenship Programme that involved the sale of passports to foreigners to supplement government revenues.



Earlier this year, NDC leader Tillman Thomas raised the issue with David Marshall, the Barbados-based Canadian High Commissioner to the Eastern Caribbean, while Prime Minister Mitchell made several trips to Canada lobbying for the government to reverse its decision.



Thomas also accused the Grenadian leader of using the Office of the Prime Minister to shield himself from prosecution in the United States.



Thomas was referring to a US Government decision granting immunity to Mitchell who has been sued by American businessman, Charles Howland.



Thomas has called for an end to what he calls roguish politics and said the island needs to return to a period of decency in governance.