Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to table a petition signed by over 300 residents of greater Vancouver, including many from my constituency of Burnaby--Douglas.
These petitioners note the over 50-year relationship between Canada and Taiwan, the over 150,000 Taiwanese tourists who visit Canada each year and the over 15,000 Taiwanese students studying here in this country. They point out that Canadians no longer require a visa to visit Taiwan and that the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand have waived their visa requirements for Taiwanese tourists, resulting in increased tourism from Taiwan to those countries.
These petitioners therefore call for the passage of Motion No. 530 tabled by the member for Burnaby—New Westminster which calls upon the Canadian government to waive the visa requirement for Taiwanese visitors to Canada.