UAE visa for Canadians

An absurd airline trade war has forced Canadians to acquire an advance visa to enter the Emirates, involving considerable expense and nuisance. A transit visa for 72 hours is still available on arrival at the airport but longer stays require jumping through bureaucratic hoops ahead of time. The would-be visitor must provide information on citizenship, UAE sponsorship, and hand over his or her passport. The wheels at the UAE embassy in Ottawa, according to popular word-of-mouth, turn slowly, leading to a nail-biting wait as the departure date approaches.
Several on-line agencies, located in the anonymity of the Internet, offer an electronic alternative. Nervously, I sent Dubai Visa Canada a scan of my passport information page and filled out a considerably less detailed information form to obtain a 30-day visa. The company promised results in five working days. It actually took two weeks to receive the e-mail with the one-page visa attached. In the interim, I had the reassurance that the company answered its phone and knew of my request. The embassy seemed less interested. It wouldn't comment on outside service and had full phone-mailboxes, always a sign of bureaucratic indifference.
On top of the $135 UAE fee, the agency charged $70. With taxes, it added up to about $270. Doing it myself would have involved courier or secure post office charges that would come fairly close to that total, plus leave me without my passport for who-knows-how-long.
The real test came at the Abu Dhabi airport border security. Despite jitters, I was fingerprinted, photoed and welcomed just like everyone else.
But then, security isn't an issue. What's contentious is the Canadian government's refusal toallow the Gulf airlines more access to Canadian airports, in a futile attempt to protect Air Canada's partner Lufthansa. Neither AC nor Lufthansa needs or deserves the help, certainly not at the expense of travellers caught in the middle.
FYI: http://www.dubaivisacanada.net
http://www.uae-embassy.ae/Embassies/ca