Father Ho Lung and Friends has applied for visitor visas for nine of its members to go to Canada on a goodwill tour. Two months have passed since the request. Airline tickets have increased in cost, we have tried many times to call the authorities of the Canadian High Commission and we have even tried to physically visit them in Kingston without success.

I have tried to make an appointment by phone but they tell us that everything must be done online. We have pre-booked tickets for our trip to Toronto. We are scheduled to perform on December 15, 2024 from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at Saints Peter and Paul Banquet Hall. This is a goodwill concert for the poor. It is in thanksgiving for food, clothing, medicine, and a gathering of fellowship. In the past, before the COVID-19 pandemic, our group had performed many concerts and productions in Canada. On the other hand, Canadians have visited and lived with the Missionaries of the Poor in our monasteries and have attended our apostolates to serve the poor.

Father Ho Lung and Friends is a well-known performance group in Jamaica. Our first overseas tour was in Peterborough, Canada. After that we expanded to Toronto. We are now well known throughout the United States and have performed in Germany, England, Brazil, the Philippines, etc.

In Jamaica, we have performed annually since 2000 at the National Arena. Audiences have ranged between 30,000 and 50,000. The productions are staged with the intention of providing drama to music, dance and theater. We receive financial assistance to help the homeless and indigent under the free service vote. People from embassies and high commissions have attended our shows.

We have had hundreds of Canadians visit us, some of them are young people who have expressed that it was a life-changing experience and a wonderful socio-religious exchange. Many containers of food are sent to us from Canada every year, and the poor have received great help. Therefore, we do not understand why this relationship between Jamaica and Canada, which has been so valuable, appears to be being curtailed now. I am surprised that we are being treated like strangers in our attempts to get visas for our goodwill tour.

Lately I have heard complaints from fellow Jamaicans that there appears to be bias against Jamaicans when applying for Canadian visas. These are not people trying to immigrate illegally to Canada or trying to export crime and marijuana.

The singers in our group are good citizens, Christian people who annually contribute their talents to serve the poor.

There are intelligent middle-class people who are alarmed because it takes a long time, sometimes eight to nine months, to process their visa applications. This begs the question: “Does the high commission have any bias against Jamaicans?”

Our experiences and expectations are that Canadians are not an inefficient or impolite people. Still, I feel there is a decided policy that the Canadian attitude towards Jamaicans should be one of exclusion.

In comparison, the US visa application process is quite the opposite.

Jamaica is a small country with too much crime and too much violence. Canada is a big country with fewer difficulties. We cannot remain separate and alone. We are part of a Western Hemisphere with similar cultures and breathing the same air.

I ask the High Commissioner of Canada in Jamaica, Mark Berman, to tell us what his country’s position is and what his position is.

Father Richard Ho Lung can be reached at 876-550-8987