Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. The government is strongly committed to its relationships with African nations. I want to point out that, when it comes to visa applications, Morocco and Seychelles are among the 13 new countries that are now eligible for the Electronic Travel Authorization program, or eTA. Eligible travellers from those African countries can request an eTA rather than a visa.

Hon. Amina Gerba: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, in my former life as an entrepreneur, I saw just how long it took to process visa applications and how many of those applications were denied. As a result, we have missed out on the participation of many Africans in our cultural and economic events.

This situation has been going on for decades and is only getting worse. Recently released figures indicate that a person from Senegal or Gabon who wishes to come to Canada must wait 320 days for an answer they cannot appeal, whereas an Indonesian visa applicant must wait only 11 days for a response.

Senator Gold, why the disparity in processing times, and what is the government doing to change this discriminatory policy, which is having a negative impact on our international events, particularly in Montreal?