Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today in the House to present a petition signed by hundreds of people from all over British Columbia calling for the establishment of a high commission in the Republic of Fiji Islands.
The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a member of the Commonwealth. Canada has a very active Fijian Canadian population numbering 100,000 strong. It is a very active population that travels for business and tourist reasons back to Fiji. As the petitioners point out in this petition, the current situation causes inordinate delay and inefficient service for tourist, visa, business and immigration issues for both Canadian and Fijian citizens.
The petitioners note that the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China and India, among other countries, all have embassies or high commissions in Fiji and that this is an overdue service for Canadians of Fijian decent.
I would also like to thank Vince Sharma, who has done a great job in collecting these signatures from all over British Columbia.