This was revealed by Mr Navdeep Singh Bains, MP from Mississauga - Brampton South, who was in the city to attend a felicitation ceremony hosted in honour of a Canadian delegation here yesterday.

Talking to TNS at the residence of Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, Mr Bains said he had visited the Canadian Embassy in New Delhi and it appeared that people from far-off places had to wait for a long time to get their applications processed. This caused delay and hardship to people.

Since a large number of applicants were from Punjab, he said the need for setting up another centre in Punjab, besides the existing one at Chandigarh, was felt. "The officials here have told me that one would be set up in Punjab, though the place was yet to be decided. Once this is done, people do not have to go to Delhi. The burden of the visa officers would be lessened and they would have more time to process more applications, he pointed out.

Mr Bains, whose family migrated from Chak 12 GB village near Raisinghnagar in Rajasthan, said he was taking up the issue of getting Indian degrees recognised in Canada. Denying discrimination against Indian universities, he said it was true of other countries as well.

"I, along with other Punjabi MPs in Canada, are actively pursuing the issue and have asked the government that immigrants desirous of seeking jobs, should be affiliated to registered professional bodies in Canada so that they could be placed on an equal footing with Canadians, he added.

The turbaned and youthful MP said the government was keen to resolve the issue and the matter was being referred to various committees. Minorities in Canada, especially Indians, were hard working and had made a mark in all fields.

Commenting on the experience of the visit, he said his primary concern was to have bilateral tie-ups in the field of education. "I have visited some of the top educational institutions in the north and am of the view that the primary education set-up needs to be revamped. Who is going to avail the facilities at the top when a majority of students drop out before matriculation, he questioned.

He said he had identified certain areas which could benefit from Canadian International Development Aid programmes. There could be tie-ups with Canadian schools where children from Punjab could be exposed to the educational atmosphere in their schools, he opined.

Mr Bains was later felicitated at a public reception hosted by the Canadian Journalists Club and the management of Sanjh Savera, a Canadian daily. Those present on the occasion were Kum Kalan MLA Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, MP Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Dr Kehar Singh, a former Chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, former MP GS Galib and BSP leader Gurmail Singh Pehalwan.