Toronto/Prague - The Canada-based Czech Roma community is poised to file a complaint against Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and the Immigration and Refugee Board for "institutional biases" against the Roma refugees, the community's lawyer William Bila said on Friday.
The Roma object to Kenney's comments marking their asylum claims "bogus", which "crosses the line of political interference into the board's independent decision-making power", according to the Toronto Star.
"The sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution," Immigration Minister Jason Kenny said in a statement.
"All too often, people who really need Canada's protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable," he added.
At issue is also a guide on the status of Czech Roma, drafted by the immigration board, which the Roma community considers "discriminatory".
"The Canadian government is creating a policy of `none is too many,'" said lawyer William Bila of the Roma Community Centre in an interview for the Toronto Star. Bila has launched an online petition pleading with Canada to address human rights violations of Roma in Europe and drop the visa restrictions.
Imposing the visa on Czechs has caused a diplomatic tiff between the two countries. Apart from bringing home the Czech ambassador to Canada for talks and visa restrictions for Canadian diplomats, Prague is ready to retaliate more, says Czech PM Jan Fischer.
Mexico is poised to introduce visa requirements for Canadian diplomats and officials too, following Canada's re-imposition of visa restrictions on Mexicans.
