1. At its Meeting on December 21, 1950 the Cabinet agreed that the Department of External Affairs should investigate the possibility of entering into a treaty or agreement with the Government of India and possibly the Governments of Pakistan and Ceylon concerning immigration to Canada.

2. Discussions were accordingly begun with the Government of India on January 5, 1951 when Officers of the Department of External Affairs proposed to the Acting Indian High Commissioner the conclusion of an agreement which would provide for the admission per annum to Canada of a stated number of citizens of India in addition to the first degree relatives already admissible under the law.

3. The Government of India warmly welcomed the Canadian initiative and asked for a draft agreement. This was handed to the Acting High Commissioner for India on January 18, 1951. The draft agreement which takes the form of an exchange of notes is now before the Government of India, who have expressed some anxiety to complete the matter by the anniversary of Indian Independence which is January 26, next.

4. The terms of the proposed exchange of notes are:

"(1) In the twelve month period commencing on the 1st day of January 1951, and in each succeeding twelve months period thereafter, the admission to Canada for permanent residence of one hundred and fifty citizens of India, including both sexes and all ages, shall be authorized provided the immigrants comply with the provisions of the Canadian Immigration Act.

(2) In addition to the citizens of India whose entry to Canada for permanent residence is authorized in accordance with paragraph (1) above, a citizen of India who can otherwise comply with the provisions of the Canadian Immigration Act may be admitted to Canada for permanent residence if he or she is the husband, wife or unmarried child under twenty-one years of age of any Canadian citizen legally admitted to and resident in Canada and if the settlement arrangements in Canada are shown to the Canadian authorities to be satisfactory.

(3) The provisions of Canadian Order-in-Council P.C. 2115, dated the 16th day of September, 1930, as amended by Order-in-Council P.C. 6229 of the 28th day of December, 1950, shall not apply to citizens of India.

(4) The admission to Canada as non-immigrants of citizens of India shall not be affected by the preceding paragraphs."

The Government of India has stated that the above terms are acceptable.

5. The High Commissioners in Pakistan and the United Kingdom have been requested to make similar proposals to the Governments of Pakistan and Ceylon. The only variation from the proposal made to India is that whereas it is proposed to admit 150 persons from India the figures for Pakistan and Ceylon are 100 persons and 50 persons respectively.

6. With the concurrence of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, I recommend that an exchange of notes as set out in paragraph 4 above be concluded with the Government of India and agreements along similar lines with the Governments of Pakistan and Ceylon.⁴⁷

L.B. PEARSON

⁴⁷ Approuvé par le Cabinet, le 24 janvier 1951. Voir Canada, Recueil des traités, 1951, N°s 1, 21 et 28 pour 1'Inde Pakistan et Ceylan respectivement.
Approved by Cabinet, January 24, 1951. See Canada, Treaty Series, 1951, Nos. 1, 21, and 28 for India, Pakistan and Ceylon respectively.