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Canada's move to deny visas to people travelling from West Africa is slammed by critics

A Winnipeg woman says the chance to bring her family from Guinea to Canada is up in the air with Ottawa's decision to close its doors to people from West African countries battling Ebola. Critics say it's a decision based on fear, not science or public health....
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A Winnipeg woman says the chance to bring her family from Guinea to Canada is up in the air with Ottawa's decision to close its doors to people from West African countries battling Ebola. Critics say it's a decision based on fear, not science or public health.

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It's not clear if a country can effectively be quarantined and even less clear if an entire geographic region can be isolated from the rest of the world. But Canada is joining many other nations by removing the welcome mat for anyone living in the Ebola zone.

Last week, the government announced it was enforcing an immediate ban on travel visas for the people in the three West African countries affected by the outbreak.

On Monday, Chris Alexander, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration explained why :

We announced new precautionary measures to make sure we keep Canadians healthy and safe during this time of increased risk. Permanent residents' visas will not be issued by visa officers unless and until they can prove the candidates have been outside of Ebola affected countries, those countries most affected for 3 months or more. We will not issue visas to those who represent a public health risk to Canada.Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Leo Johnson is a Canadian of Liberian origin from Hamilton, Ontario. His plans to have his mother visit to Canada this winter have been derailed by the government's ban on travel visas for people in Ebola zones.


We requested an interview with Rona Ambrose the Minister of Health. Her office referred us to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander. He was not available, neither was his Parliamentary Secretary, nor anyone else from the government.


International SOS tracks which countries are imposing travel restrictions. It's a medical and travel security risk services company. It lists more than 30 countries as having some kind of travel restriction, including suspending the issue of visas and closing borders.

There has been nothing that I would consider to be too extreme. What Canada and Australia has done is par for the course. some of the smaller countries in the Caribbean for example has small variations on that theme. But in general what the countries are restricting the issuance of visas to people they consider high risk.Dr. Robert Quigley, Sr. Vice President of Medical Assistance

Canada may be just one of many countries implementing travel restrictions... but it's a move that some think is short sighted and dangerous. Steven Hoffman is the Director of the Global Strategy Lab at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law.


What do you think? Is restricting visas from West Africa a reasonable way to stop the spread of Ebola?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath and Sujata Berry.

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