Death row, detainment and geopolitics cause surge in Canadian consular cases
Death row, detainment and geopolitics cause surge in Canadian consular cases
Global Affairs Canada says deteriorating stability worldwide is causing a massive expansion in the work required to protect Canadians abroad, with the department warning Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand that Canadians might need to pay more and expect less.
That’s according to the briefing binder prepared for Anand when she took on the role in May. Across hundreds of pages, the binder details some of the eight Canadians facing the death penalty abroad, and the geopolitical hot spots where embassies have scrambled to evacuate citizens and their families.
“While you may expect to focus on international policy, consular work will also occupy a significant amount of your time,” the department warned Anand.
“Canadians’ expectations are not anticipated to abate, and the minister of foreign affairs has a visible role in managing consular crises and demands for assistance.”
Global Affairs Canada said it has had to deploy evacuation personnel to extract Canadians from crisis situations much more frequently than before, up 3.4 times over the past five years.
“Increased travel, diversity of Canada’s population, geopolitical instability, war and civil unrest, earthquakes and climate-related events are all factors that have upped the volume, complexity and resource demands of consular work,” the binder reads.
It also notes that GAC is increasingly asked to help not just citizens but also permanent residents and their relatives.
That’s left the department with a major financial shortfall, in part because the $25 fee for consular services charged for all adult passports hasn’t been adjusted since 2013, including with the introduction of the 10-year passport.
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