C-24 Citizenship Act: Clause-by-Clause Review – June 2

Following Second Reading of Bill C-24 in the House last week, clause-by-clause review and voting started at Committee Monday. Not surprisingly, the Government was not open to any minor or major amendments, determined to have the Bill adopted as is. The opposition was united in its opposition to most of the provisions covered during the session.

No government amendments were proposed. Opposition amendments included:

• Removal of the first generation limit to passing on citizenship and replacing it with a second generation limit;
• Delete the “intent to reside” provision as it either is “meaningless” according to Ministerial testimony or unconstitutional according to a number of witnesses (and officials were less clear than the Minister in previous testimony on its constitutionality);
• Revert to previous age requirements re language and knowledge testing (i.e., 18-54, rather than proposed 14-65);
• Counting pre-Permanent Residents time towards citizenship as per current practice, particularly for international students given competition to attract them;
• Provide credit for time working abroad for a Canadian company towards residency requirements;
• Reduced discretion for Minister on health and compassion grounds;
• No amendment tabled but opposition to the increased Ministerial discretion without independent or impartial hearing in cases of revocation for cases of fraud; and,
• Remove provisions to strip dual citizens of their citizenship in case of convictions for terrorism and treason.

No amendments or debate on Clause 4 (Lost Canadians), 5 (Crown Servants), and 6 (Renunciation)

The most lively exchange took place near the end of the meeting. Stepping back from the individual provisions, both opposition parties expressed their substantive concerns regarding the cumulative effects of C-24 on access to Canadian citizenship. Moreover, the NDP sharply criticized the Government for ignoring any critical views of witnesses (“une très grande majorité opposée) and “shooting down all” amendments. The Liberals challenged the fundamental premise of the Bill that by making citizenship harder to get and easier to lose, this increased its value (“no evidence”). These “multiple barriers” would provide incentives to go elsewhere, particularly for international students.

The Government in turn reiterated its main points that C-24 dealt with the key points to citizenship. All Canadians would expect new citizens to indicate their intent to reside in Canada, and requiring elementary language competency for 14-64 is “not asking too much.” The Government wanted to ensure a “real connection” to Canada. An “extensive list” of witnesses supported these provisions.

Officials were not asked any questions during the session.

The Committee reconvenes Tuesday afternoon to continue clause-by-clause review.