Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj has authorised the Canadian authorities to release to a third party the information on which his visa to travel to Canada was revoked.
Gajraj agreed to provide the authorisation after the Canadian High Commission informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Canadian privacy laws prevented the disclosure of the information to the police as it had requested.
The Foreign Ministry, in a letter earlier this week requesting the Canadian High Commission to pass the information to the police, said: "The Government of Guyana believes that the provision of such information would serve to discourage speculation and achieve an understanding and resolution of this matter."
William Farrell, Chief Immigration Officer at the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad told Stabroek News yesterday in a telephone conversation that he could not comment on Gajraj's case. Nor would he comment on whether his office had received Gajraj's waiver.
However, he explained that generally the issuance or revocation of a visa is at the discretion of the consular officer. He pointed out that there are certain circumstances which, by Canadian law, the consular officer has no other recourse but to revoke a visa. These circumstances include a criminal conviction or a medical condition, which could put an undue strain on the Canadian health system.
Farrell said the consular officer can exercise discretion to revoke a visa if it is not in Canada's interest to admit the person at the given time.
Gajraj is at the centre of a maelstrom of allegations about his relationship to a "phantom gang". The allegations surfaced after Shafeek Bacchus was gunned down on January 5 in front of his Princes Street residence. His brother George, who has confessed to being an informant of the gang and believing that he was the intended target, gave statements to the media and to officials at the US embassy linking Gajraj to the squad.