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Don’t bother coming, Canada’s embassy in Bogata tells would-be visitors

Don’t bother coming, Canada’s embassy in Bogata tells would-be visitors

The labour dispute between the federal government and its foreign service workers is biting deeper into Canada's reputation.

The tourism industry has been warning the stalemate that's slowed visa applications is hurting travel to Canada, and now the Globe and Mail reports at least one embassy is telling potential foreign visitors to skip Canada.

About 1,300 diplomats, members of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, have been conducting rotating strikes since April.

The main issue appears to be wages. The union says its members are paid less than other federal civil servants who don't work outside the country. The government has stood fast, arguing foreign postings come with perks and benefits other public servants don't get.

The dispute has resulted in the unusual sight of pickets outside of Canadian missions, including Canada's embassy in the heart of Washington, D.C., where it rated a mention in the Washington Post's In the Loop blog.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenny's office told CBC News that all visa offices remain open and are providing services, but the backlog of applications is growing.

Association head Tim Edwards said the number of visas issued in June dropped 25 per cent overall, and almost two thirds in major centres, CBC News said.

[ Related: Foreign service strike slowing down visa applications ]

According to the Globe, the wait time for Canadian visas has grown to four to six weeks, sometimes longer.

The situation apparently prompted an the Canadian embassy in Bogota to advise would-be travellers not to bother coming to Canada.

“All Canadian visa offices around the world are working at reduced capacity and processing times for visa applications are uncertain at the moment," an official in the embassy’s immigration section stated in what appeared to be a rote Spanish-language reply to a visa query, the Globe reported.

"So we recommend looking for other options for a trip that do not include a stop in Canada."

Kenny's spokeswoman, Alexis Pavlich, told the Globe this was not an approved message and that it was sent to only a handful of people planning to transit through Canada rather than staying here.

We can only speculate whether staff at other embassies have sent similar messages to potential visitors.

The tourism industry sees it as the government's true position when it comes to visa applicants.

[ Related: Striking diplomats in D.C. timing job walkouts to key events, visits at embassy ]

“I wasn’t surprised by the sentiment. I was surprised somebody put it in writing,” David Goldstein, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, told the Globe.

The delays of a month or more to receive a Canadian visitors’ visa tells foreigners Canada is not open for business, he said.

His association estimates the backlog will cost the tourism business $280 million this summer, reducing travel from countries requiring visas, which include China, India, Mexico and Brazil, by 30 per cent.

The Globe noted Citizenship and Immigration Canada's web site advises tourists to expect delays and make their visa applications "as far in advance as possible."