Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic, does not have a seat on the committee after her party failed to reach official party status in the recent federal election.
As such, MPs from the Conservatives and Bloc hold a voting majority on the committee and are able to overrule the Liberals, who opposed the amendments.
However, Kwan, along with all other MPs, can propose additional amendments through motions at report stage, which is the final step before a bill proceeds to third reading and a vote in the House of Commons.
“I have no way of having any intervention at the committee level [and] this is my only opportunity to do as a member of Parliament,” said Kwan.
In order for Kwan’s motions to pass, she would need support from the Liberals, though the NDP MP is confident she has the votes because her changes would bring Bill C-3 closer to its original text
“I have been in communication with [the Liberals] and I’ve advised them that it’s my intention to advance these motions,” she said. “I’ve let [parliamentary secretary Peter Fragiskatos] know… and I’ve been given every indication that they would support this.”
Fragiskatos’ office did not respond to iPolitics‘ request for comment, while a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab the federal government will “continue to monitor Bill C-3 as it moves through the parliamentary process.”
Justice Minister Sean Fraser recently said it’s “very important” that governments don’t get to decide which Canadians are eligible for birthright citizenship.
“I think when you start to pick and choose who amongst Canadians gets the full benefits of citizenship, you obviously enter into a very troublesome conversation,” he told reporters earlier this month.
It should be noted it remains to be seen if or when Kwan’s report stage motions will make it to a vote, as the House Speaker holds the sole authority to determine whether specific report stage motions are procedurally admissible.
The ‘Lost Canadians’ legislation would reverse a change made by former prime minister Stephen Harper that disallowed people born abroad from passing citizenship to their children unless they were born in Canada.
A 2023 ruling from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found the change to be unconstitutional and gave the federal government until last spring to correct the issue. The Trudeau administration introduced a bill to amend the Citizenship Act last May, but it had not yet received royal assent when Parliament was prorogued earlier this year.
As such, the bill died on the order paper and a new bill was required following the recent federal election.
The government has applied for a one-year extension but Justice Jasmine Akbarali set a deadline of Nov. 20, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. In her decision, she said that should be enough time for “remedial legislation” to be implemented if it is made a “priority.”
With files from the Canadian Press
