Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present a petition signed by over 300 citizens. The signatures were collected by the Canadian Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
The petitioners strongly urge Parliament to pass Motion No. 99 and thereby follow the lead of the United Kingdom by lifting visitor visas for Croatian nationals.
The days of the iron curtain have ended. Today Croatia is standing shoulder to shoulder with Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan and is currently the second largest non-NATO troop contributor to the Afghan mission.
Politically, economically and socially Croatia is integrated with the west. It is time for Canada to follow the example of the U.K. and lift visitor visa requirements for Croatia.