iPOLITICS: Feds find no evidence of significant number of Canadians in citizenship limbo
iPOLITICS: Feds find no evidence of significant number of Canadians in citizenship limbo
Since 2010, 384 people have received a discretionary grant of citizenship under the Act, the memo says; 326 were Lost Canadian cases, with almost all involving people who “failed to take steps required by the previous law to retain citizenship.”
Amendments made to the Citizenship Act in the Harper government’s 2009 bill (C-37) and 2015 bill (C-24) were meant to give citizenship to people who lost it or never had it, and generally simplify citizenship rules.
But the memo acknowledges there are still examples of Lost Canadians “not fixed” by both pieces of legislation.
Critics have argued Bill C-37 added a new elements of discrimination that the Liberals chose not to touch in their Citizenship Act-amending legislation, Bill C-6, which received royal assent in June.
One was the creation of a first-generation limit by descent (FGL), whereby the children of Canadians born abroad became ineligible for citizenship.
Bill C-37 also eliminated requirements under the 1977 Citizenship Act that included submitting an application prior to turning 28, but some individuals continue to be affected by the old law.
Byrdie Funk is one. On July 1, Funk — born in Mexico to Canadian parents — regained her citizenship after having it stripped as a result of the now-repealed 1977 Act provision.
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NDP MP Jenny Kwan introduced a private member’s bill in December 2016 that would, among other things, “allow a person to acquire Canadian citizenship despite being born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was born outside Canada if the person establishes that the parent has or had a substantial connection to Canada.”
The Kwan bill is also addressed in the memo, but Morgan’s comments are redacted under the Access to Information Act section that covers advice to a minister and consultations or deliberations with a minister or their staff.
Don Chapman, the most outspoken advocate for Lost Canadians, thinks the entire Citizenship Act needs to be scrapped.
When Funk regained her citizenship this past Canada Day, Chapman celebrated the victory but told The Canadian Press drastic changes were needed.
“The laws have become so convoluted,” he said. “We need to not just close the gaps, we need a new citizenship act.”
Click link to read the news story - https://www.ipolitics.ca/2017/07/06/feds-find-no-evidence-of-significant-number-of-canadians-in-citizenship-limbo/
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MPs question Lena Diab's performance at question period and in committee
Criticism is coming not only from opposition parties, but also from Diab's own Liberal colleagues.
Away from the cameras, 10 Liberal MPs spoke to Radio-Canada about her performance. They were granted confidentiality in order to express themselves freely.
Of those, only one defended Diab's job performance. Although several of them emphasized that she is a "good person" in charge of a "difficult" portfolio, nine MPs said they believe that the minister is overwhelmed and are openly questioning her place at the cabinet table.
"It doesn't make sense. In the House of Commons, many MPs hold their breath when she answers questions from the opposition," said one Liberal elected official.
"We're afraid she'll put her foot in her mouth."
New Democrat Jenny Kwan, her party's immigration critic, said that both Carney and Diab are responsible for how the immigration file is handled.
"That responsibility is to be responsive to stakeholders, to take these issues seriously, to examine the policies, to evaluate them, to hear from opposition and the public and look for ways to improve them," she said.
"That is their job."
Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lena-diab-immigration-minister-criticism-9.7103914
Conservatives are capitalizing on the recent drop in public support for immigration, but risk being seen as too MAGA adjacent, say observers. Meanwhile, the immigration minister's own colleagues question her handling of the file.
The Conservatives’ defeated motion targeting health-care coverage for asylum claimants shows weaknesses on both the part of the Liberal immigration minister and the official opposition leader, with MAGA-like rhetoric posing political risk for the latter, observers say.
Jordan Leichnitz, a former NDP strategist who now works for the German non-profit Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, told The Hill Times in a Feb. 26 interview that the Conservatives’ pressure on the immigration file is a reflection of their own political fragility.
“To me, it’s a manifestation of their political weakness right now. They turn to these arguments because they’re very mobilizing for segments of their base at moments where they feel politically more vulnerable,” she said.