June 16, 2026
The Honourable Lena Diab
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
By email: [email protected]
Dear Minister Diab,
Open letter re: notices directing individuals to surrender Canadian citizenship certificates
I am writing regarding deeply troubling reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued notices directing individuals to surrender Canadian citizenship certificates that were lawfully issued following the implementation of Bill C-3.
The reports suggest that an unknown number of people who successfully applied for proof of citizenship under the new legislation have now been informed that their citizenship certificates are being suspended pending a review of their files. Many recipients indicate that they received no prior indication that there were concerns with their applications and only learned of the Department's position after receiving a form letter demanding the return of their citizenship certificate.
I am profoundly concerned by both the substance of these actions and the manner in which they have been undertaken.
Citizenship is the most fundamental legal status that Canada can confer. Individuals who receive citizenship certificates from the Government of Canada are entitled to rely upon those determinations when making major life decisions. Many of the affected individuals have already accepted employment, enrolled in educational programs, relocated to Canada, made financial commitments, sold homes, or begun plans to reunite with family members based on the citizenship status that IRCC formally recognized.
For the government to issue citizenship certificates and subsequently demand their return months later raises serious questions regarding procedural fairness, administrative competence, and public confidence in Canada's citizenship system.
If IRCC had concerns regarding documentary evidence submitted in support of these applications, those concerns should have been addressed before positive determinations were made and citizenship certificates were issued. Reopening files after individuals have relied on official government decisions imposes significant hardship on affected families and creates uncertainty regarding the security of Canadian citizenship itself.
The explanations reported to date are particularly troubling. IRCC appears to be taking the position that certain supporting documents were not obtained directly from original source authorities or that applicants failed to provide sufficient evidence demonstrating efforts to obtain such records.
However, IRCC's own application guides and document checklists expressly contemplate the use of alternative forms of evidence. The Department's guidance refers to "any other evidence" capable of establishing a parent's Canadian citizenship and provides examples of supplementary documentation that may be relied upon when primary records are unavailable. Applicants who followed the instructions provided by IRCC should not now find themselves facing the loss of rights that the government itself recognized.
The Federal Court has repeatedly emphasized that applicants are entitled to rely on clear guidance provided by government departments. It would be fundamentally unfair for IRCC to retroactively impose evidentiary expectations that were not clearly articulated at the time applications were submitted and assessed.
I am equally concerned about the implications of these actions for the implementation of Bill C-3 itself.
Parliament adopted Bill C-3 to remedy longstanding injustices in Canada's citizenship laws and to restore citizenship rights to individuals who had been excluded by outdated legislative restrictions. The legislation was intended to resolve the circumstances of so-called "Lost Canadians," not create a new generation of Canadians whose status remains uncertain despite having received official recognition from the Government of Canada.
While IRCC has stated that these reviews relate to documentary concerns, the mass nature of the initiative has understandably generated anxiety among individuals whose citizenship claims arise from complex historical family histories and multi-generational descent. It is essential that the Department clearly affirm that Parliament's intent in enacting Bill C-3 will be respected and that citizenship rights restored through the legislation will not be undermined through restrictive administrative interpretations.
In particular, Canadians deserve assurance that the implementation of Bill C-3 will not recreate historical forms of exclusion that Parliament has spent decades attempting to eliminate, including distinctions rooted in gender discrimination, marital status, legitimacy, or historical technicalities that previously denied citizenship rights to entire classes of people.
Accordingly, I urge you to immediately suspend the current certificate recall initiative pending a comprehensive review of the legal and procedural basis for these actions.
I would also call for the following actions:
- Immediately halt any adverse action against affected certificate holders until a full review has been completed;
- Confirm the total number of individuals who have received certificate surrender notices;
- Publicly disclose the legal authority and policy rationale underlying this initiative;
- Release any operational guidance, directives, or instructions issued to officers regarding the review of citizenship certificates granted under Bill C-3;
- Ensure that all affected individuals receive meaningful procedural fairness, including adequate time to respond and full disclosure of the concerns raised in their cases;
- Confirm that applicants who relied upon IRCC's published guidance will not be prejudiced by subsequent changes in evidentiary interpretation; and
- Provide Parliament with a detailed explanation of how the Department intends to implement Bill C-3 in a manner consistent with the legislation's purpose.
Following numerous studies by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, and the need to ensure Canada's immigration and citizenship processes are fair and just, I previously tabled a Private Member's Bill in Parliament to establish an independent ombudsperson office on immigration with a mandate to examine the department’s policies to ensure policy implementation upholds the principles of fairness and equity.
The office should be given the appropriate resources to review the department’s policies; have the authority to receive and review complaints, including regarding systemic discrimination and barriers in policies, programs, initiatives, and to seek fairness in processing standards; have strong investigative powers and structural independence to conduct this work; review regular reports on racism and training procedures; examine concerns with differential treatment and discriminatory practices in IRCC’s policies and program and be able to look at trends and patterns in complaints to identify potential systemic issues; and that the office be empowered
to make recommendations and take appropriate enforcement measures in relation to these activities to address complaints and seek system-wide improvements. I call on the government to adopt my earlier Private Member's Bill as a government bill.
Canadians expect citizenship determinations to be accurate, fair, and final. They also expect government departments to administer legislation in a manner consistent with Parliament's intent. The uncertainty and distress experienced by affected individuals in recent days demonstrates why transparency, accountability, and procedural fairness must be at the centre
of any review process.
Given the seriousness of this matter, I request that your department provide an immediate public explanation to affected certificate holders and to Parliament.
Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
