Ottawa - Canada's Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion said last week a long-standing dispute with Mexico over visa restrictions would be resolved shortly.

Mr. Dion made the remarks at a news conference following a meeting in Quebec City with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu.

The former Canadian Conservative government, unseated by the Liberal Party this past fall, implemented a policy back in 2009 requiring Mexicans visiting Canada to obtain a visa, in an effort to deter bogus refugee claims from Mexico. Canadian business leaders have pushed the federal government to repeal the policy because, they say, it thwarts attempts to build a closer trading and investment relationship with Mexico.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had pushed former Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a resolution to the visa impasse, which also raised the ire of Mexican business owners.

"The visa situation between Canada and Mexico will be resolved, finished, kaput," Mr. Dion said, with Ms. Ruiz Massieu standing adjacent to him. He didn't provide further details at the news conference. Ms. Ruiz Massieu didn't address the Canadian visa issue. A representative for Mexico's embassy in Ottawa wasn't immediately available for comment.

Canada and Mexico are partners in the North American Free-Trade Agreement, along with the U.S. Two-way trade between Canada and Mexico totaled roughly 34 billion Canadian dollars ($24.2 billion) in 2014, according to the most recent data.