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Tag: canada

  • Nigeria High Commission in Canada reopens

    Nigeria High Commission in Canada reopens

    The Nigerian High Commission in Canada says it will resume in-person immigration and consular services on Thursday.

    This is coming six months after it shut its doors in compliance with the host country’s guidelines for the prevention of the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    The reopening of the commission is contained in a statement, which indicates a number of rules that applicants must comply with to access the services.

    However, it has been issuing Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) and visas to applicants needing urgent travels, via email since then.

    One of the guidelines required applicants to apply online and request for interview appointment through email.

    “Everyone coming to the chancery has to come in with face masks/covering and sanitise their hands.

    “You are also required to practice social distancing. These are public health measures put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19,” it stated.

    Warning against gate crashing, which is common at Nigerian missions abroad, the High Commission said only those with printed interview invitations would be attended to.

    Canadian authorities are expanding restrictions on gatherings amid a surge in COVID-19 cases to unprecedented levels in the country since May.

    According to its Public Health Agency, the North American country has reported a daily average of close to 1,000 infections within the last seven days.

    Tally by John Hopkins University puts the country’s caseload at 148,411, including 9,283 deaths.

  • Buhari congratulates Nigerian born Kaycee Madu, on his ministerial appointment in Canada

    Buhari congratulates Nigerian born Kaycee Madu, on his ministerial appointment in Canada

    President Muhammadu Buhari has rejoiced with Nigerian born Kaycee Madu, appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for the Government of Alberta, in Canada.

    The president’s congratulatory message was conveyed in a statement by Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Thursday.

    Madu makes history as the first African born provincial Minister in Canadian history, and is also the Provincial Secretary and Keeper of the Great Seal of the Province of Alberta.

    Buhari described the honour as “landmark and historic,” saying “it once again pedestals people of Nigerian descent as go-getters, who distinguish themselves in different walks of life.’’

    According to the president, as the first Black Justice Minister and Solicitor-General in Canada, Madu has written himself into history books.

    He urged Nigerians, both at home and abroad, to remain good Ambassadors of their country.

  • Nigerian man who migrated to Canada with family in 2005 appointed Justice Minister

    Nigerian man who migrated to Canada with family in 2005 appointed Justice Minister

    A Nigerian-born Canadian, Kaycee Madu, has been appointed as the justice minister and solicitor general of Alberta, a province in Canada.

    Premier Jason Kenney with Kaycee Madu

    Premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday elevated Madu to the justice portfolio from Municipal Affairs in a cabinet shuffle that makes him the first Black man to occupy either Provincial or Federal Justice positions of the Justice Minister, Attorney General or Solicitor General.

    Madu was born and raised in Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Lagos with a law degree in 2001.

    Madu and his family

    He and his wife moved to Canada in 2005.

    Prior to his appointment, Mr. Madu was a member of the legislative assembly of the province representing the district of Edmonton-South West after winning the 2019 Alberta general election.

    On April 30, 2019, he was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

    Mr Madu, a member of the United Conservative Party, is the first Nigerian-born cabinet member in Alberta.

    Speaking on Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney said the appointment of Madu makes a powerful statement at a time when Albertans have grown more sensitive to racial prejudice.

    He said: “[Madu] is a man who has experienced racial prejudice firsthand and can bring that sensitivity to this important role,” Kenney said. “I’m excited to have him in that position.”

    Speaking on his appointment, Madu promised to serve with fairness and equality for all.

    He said: “Thank you, everyone, for all the well wishes. I am beyond humbled to accept my new role as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General – where I will pursue fairness, equality, and justice for all with every ounce of strength I have.”

  • Nigerian embassy in Canada shut, consular services suspended till further notice

    Nigerian embassy in Canada shut, consular services suspended till further notice

    Nigeria’s High Commission in Ottawa, Canada has shut its doors to the public and suspended consular services until further notice.

    In a statement on its website, the High Commission said it was forced to close to the public after Nigerian citizens conducted themselves in an unruly manner at the commission’s office.

    The statement agreed that a number of citizens have compelling passport renewal requests which it was ready to attend to in a responsible manner.

    Attending to such categories of citizens was made strictly by appointment on designated days of the week.

    This it said enabled the High Commission to admit a limited number of people into the chancery at a time and observe the laid down rules of physical and social distancing.

    However, some other citizens abused the privilege showing up at the chancery without an appointment and insisting on being attended to, even on days when they were not open to the public at all.

    The commission said such people behave in a most unruly manner, disturbing the peace and banging windows, etc. forcing them to cease operation.

    It cited an incident last Friday 14 August, when a group of Nigerians showed up at the high commission and refused to allow the embassy staff to attend to those who had appointments.

    The group insisted the embassy must attend to everyone who showed up.

    “They went as far as holding a female staff member who went to address them, hostage, for over twenty minutes and subjected her to physical abuse.”

    The commission in the statement eventually explained that they would be exploring ways of making their premises more secure and less susceptible to unruly behaviour and violent mob action.

    Nigerians whose work or study permits have expired since March 2020, and who do not have a valid passport, have a grace period that lasts until December 31st, according to the High Commission.

    “By this time we expect to have resolved some of the challenging issues that COVID-19 has created,” the statement added.

  • Big banks join boycott of Facebook platforms

    Canada’s biggest lenders confirmed on Friday they had joined a widespread boycott of Facebook Inc. begun by U.S. civil rights groups, seeking to pressure the world’s largest social media platform to take concrete steps to block hate speech.

    More than 400 brands have pulled advertising on Facebook in response to the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, begun after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

    Canadian lenders Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce all said they will pause advertising on Facebook platforms in July.

    Desjardins Group, Canada’s largest federation of credit unions, also said on its website on Thursday it will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month “barring any exceptional situations where we need to communicate with our members or clients’’.

    Most cited their commitments to inclusion and diversity.

    Facebook has opened itself up to a civil rights audit and has banned 250 white supremacist organisations from Facebook and Instagram, a spokesman said by email.

    Its investments in artificial intelligence mean it finds nearly 90 per cent of hate speech it takes action on before users report it, he added.

    BMO said it is continuing its “ongoing dialogue with Facebook on changes they can make to their platforms to reduce the spread of hate speech’’.

    RBC said one way to help clients and communities is to stand against “misinformation and hate speech, which only make systemic racism more pervasive’’.

  • Canada shuns FG, denies Air Peace right to evacuate Nigerians

    The Canadian government has denied Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, the right to evacuate Nigerian citizens stranded in the North American country.

    This is coming weeks after the evacuation was stalled following the inability of Air Peace to secure landing rights from Canada.

    The Federal Government had penultimate week designated Air Peace to conduct evacuation flight to bring Nigerians who are stranded in Canada with the flight plan to airlift passengers from Toronto and Calgary back to the country.

    But sources disclosed that the Canada High Commission opened talks with another foreign airline, in a bid to deny Air Peace the opportunity to carry out the evacuation flight.

    Though, the Federal Government through the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama had assured that the issue was being resolved, findings revealed that the moves to position a foreign airline for the flight at a higher fare was responsible for the delay.

    But despite the insistence of the Nigerian government that Air Peace must carry out the flight, the airline has finally been denied the rights in what analysts see as the outcome of high wire aero-politics.

    The Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa has confirmed that the Canadian government has refused Air Peace Limited the right to evacuate Nigerian citizens in the country.

    This is despite the fact that the over 300 affected passengers had already bought an Air Peace ticket.

    The High Commission confirmed this in a letter dated May 20, 2020 with reference number NHS/OTT/ADM.56/I emanating from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs titled: “Update on the Flight postponement”.

    The letter read: “The best and overall well-being of Nigerians stranded in Canada were the overriding considerations of the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa seeking a solution to their predicament.

    “The aim was to come up with the most convenient and cost-effective arrangement possible bearing in mind that the many were stranded here through no fault of their own and some had become cash strapped.

    “The mission, therefore, engaged a number of airlines and eventually came up with an arrangement and pricing structure with Air Peace which no other airline was able to match.

    “You will recall that in our public notice of 12th May, 2020, the High Commission announced that the Canadian government had expressed reservations concerning the granting of necessary clearance/landing permit for Air Peace to fly into Canada, due to safety concerns.

    “Kindly be informed that after the protracted engagement, the Canadian government has unfortunately reverted with what appears to be a final refusal.

    “As a result, the Air Peace arrangement is cancelled. “During the negotiation with Air Peace, the issue of refunds was addressed in the event that the flight did not hold due to unforeseen circumstances and as such, everyone will get refunds for their tickets from Air peace as agreed.

    “In the meantime, the Nigerian High Commission is working assiduously to secure an alternative arrangement to get you home as soon as possible, safely and at the least cost possible.

    “Further updates will be communicated in due course.”

    It would be recalled that the Canada High Commission had directed that passengers should pay $2, 500 to another airline; while Air Peace charged $1, 134 and 319 passengers have already paid to the indigenous airline, which has concluded plans to operate full flight to the North American country.

    ‘We have done many international flights’ In response to the safety concern raised by Air Peace, the airline had disclosed that it had successfully flown to 40 countries, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom. An official who spoke in confidence said: “We have done many international flights, including landing in Canada.

    “We have made 19 flights to the United States of America since 2014. “We have flown to Tel-Aviv several times and in March we evacuated over 200 Israelis from Nigeria during this COVID-19 lockdown.”

    “We have scheduled flight operations to United Arab Emirates. “We have also flown to UK, Ireland, China, Turkey, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland and other countries. “We have IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification and we are member of IATA.

    “We have also evacuated Nigerians from South Africa during the Xenophobia attack of Africans there. “We are grateful to the Federal Government and the Ministry of Aviation for all the support it is giving Air Peace and other ingenious carriers,”

  • COVID-19: Evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Canada postponed

    About 200 Nigerian citizens stranded in Canada hoping to return home on Thursday will have to wait as their evacuation flight has been postponed.

    The Nigeria High Commission in Ottawa, which is organising the flight, announced the postponement in a statement, citing “logistics issues” beyond its control.

    It specifically blamed the inability of Air Peace – the chosen carrier – to secure “overflight and landing permits” from the Canadian authorities on time.

    “These challenges are as a result of the fact that Air Peace is flying this route for the first time.

    “The high commission opted for Air Peace because the air fare was relatively more affordable compared to the offers of other airlines that were contacted.

    “This is coupled with the fact that only Air Peace had agreed to convey the evacuees from more than one location in Canada,” the mission stated.

    It said a new date would be announced as soon as the airline secured the clearance from the Canadian authorities.

    The plane, a Boeing 777 aircraft, was scheduled to fly from Lagos to convey the passengers from two locations in Canada, namely Toronto and Alberta.

    According to the flight schedule, the plane was expected to pick the first set from the Pearson International Airport, Toronto.

    From there it would fly to the Calgary International Airport, Alberta, a distance of 2,915 k.m., to pick the second set of passengers.

    The prospective passengers had been given until Tuesday to book the special flight directly with the airline.

  • FG set to evacuate 200 Nigerians stranded in Canada

    FG set to evacuate 200 Nigerians stranded in Canada

    The Nigeria High Commission in Canada said it is set to evacuate Nigerians stranded in that country due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

    In a statement on Monday, the mission said it had received no fewer than 200 requests for evacuation.

    To this end, it stated that a Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Air Peace had been specially arranged to fly the intending returnees home this Thursday.

    The high commission noted that it could be the only special evacuation flight for Nigerian nationals stranded in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    It said the plane would pick the prospective passengers from two locations in Canada, namely Toronto and Alberta.

    According to the flight schedule, the aircraft is expected to pick the first set from the Pearson International Airport, Toronto.

    From there it will fly to the Calgary International Airport, Alberta, a distance of 2,915 k.m., to load the second set of passengers.

    The aircraft will depart Alberta for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where the evacuees would be moved into isolation for 14 days.

    The one-way flight will cost each prospective evacuee between 1,130 dollars (N452,000) and 2,000 dollars (N800,000) depending on the class.

    The special evacuation exercise began on Wednesday with the return of 265 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates.

    On Friday, 253 were brought back from the United Kingdom, followed by 160 from the United States on Sunday.

    This brings to 678 the total number of Nigerians evacuated by the Federal Government so far.

  • COVID-19: Canada evacuates 137 citizens from Nigeria

    COVID-19: Canada evacuates 137 citizens from Nigeria

    The Canadian Government on Monday evacuated 137 of its nationals out of Nigeria over the coronavirus pandemic.

    According to Immigration sources, the Canadians were flown out of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport ( MMIA) Lagos aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 aircraft flight ET8201 with registration number ET-ALO.

    The aircraft took about 11.29 hours to Abuja to pick other evacuees slated for the flight.

    Besides the 137 evacuees, the aircraft had 11 crew members.

    Details shortly…

  • Canada officially pulls out of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

    Canada has announced withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics over coronavirus fears, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dilly-dallies over the postponement.

    Australia also told its athletes to prepare for a Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as expectations grew that the Games — scheduled to start on July 24 — would be postponed as the virus crisis convulses the globe.

    The IOC admitted a delay may be “inevitable”, but said a decision would not come until some weeks.

    Japanese and Olympic officials had stuck resolutely to the line that the Summer Games will go ahead on time, but criticism from athletes and sports bodies has swelled to a crescendo in recent days.

    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament that Japan was still committed to a “complete” Games, but added: “If that becomes difficult, in light of considering athletes first, it may become inevitable that we make a decision to postpone.”

    It was the second major concession in a matter of hours after the IOC said “the scenario of postponement” was one of the options under consideration, with a final decision due within four weeks.

    “Human lives take precedence over everything, including the staging of the Games,” IOC president Thomas Bach wrote in an open letter to athletes after emergency talks.

    “Cancellation would not solve any problem and would help nobody,” Bach added. “Therefore it is not on our agenda.”

    Athletes and sports bodies have become increasingly vocal after restrictions imposed because of COVID-19 trashed competition schedules and often made training impossible — and risky.

    Canada highlighted the dangers to the broader community as they became the first team to withdraw from the Olympics and Paralympics, urging a year’s postponement.

    “This is not solely about athlete health — it is about public health,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said.

    “With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games.”

    Canada’s pull-out came despite the IOC promising to hold “detailed discussions” on the “worldwide health situation and its impact on the Olympic Games, including the scenario of postponement”, with a decision expected “within the next four weeks”.

    Even this timetable was criticised, with Britain’s world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith calling it “irresponsible”.

    “So wait… does this mean that athletes face up to another FOUR weeks of finding ways to fit in training — whilst potentially putting ourselves, coaches, support staff and loved ones at risk just to find out they were going to be postponed anyway,” she tweeted.

    “So irresponsible,” added Asher-Smith. “I was really hoping to hear an announcement that they’d postponed it to 2021 this week.”

    The IOC is responsible for making any final decision on the Games, and has come under increasing pressure as the coronavirus emergency grows, with more than 14,400 deaths worldwide, according to an AFP tally.

    It warned that the logistics of postponing the Games were extremely complicated, with venues potentially unavailable, millions of hotel nights already booked and a packed international sports calendar.

    However, Australian Olympic officials said “it’s clear” that the Tokyo Games can’t go ahead as scheduled and told its athletes to prepare for a year’s postponement.