Staffing cuts strain Justice Department

2014/08/21 Leave a comment

Confirms other reports (e.g., Justice Canada chops research budget by $1.2-million), and provides additional explanation for the large number of cases lost by the Government. An amusing, if sad, contrast between the comments of former officials and the everything is fine assurance from the political and bureaucratic levels:

Separately, in the Public Safety Department, lawyers were given just one week to draft a new law on parole, according to Mary Campbell, who retired last year from her job as the department’s director-general of the corrections and criminal justice directorate.

By her count, 30 bills on justice, sentencing and corrections are either currently before Parliament or were given royal assent in June. She likened the legislative development process to a sausage factory.

“When you’ve got a pace that says, ‘Keep the sausage machine going,’ you’re going to get errors,” she said in an interview.

Jason Tamming, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, said the government has passed more than 30 measures to get tough on crime. “Our Members of Parliament work very hard to pass the best legislation to keep our communities safe,” he said. “We expect our civil servants to do the same.”

The Justice Department, in an internal report on the criminal policy section released on its website, did not use the colourful language that Ms. Campbell did. But it spoke of lowered morale as research and statistics staff have been cut from 35 to 17, between 2008-09 and 2012-13. It said 81 per cent of the department’s lawyers said the quality of their work has suffered because of the short timelines they must meet.

However, when contacted directly, a Justice Department spokesperson said it is important to note that the criminal policy section is achieving its objectives and the government has a high degree of satisfaction with its work.

David Daubney, a former senior bureaucrat in the Justice Department who retired in 2011, said the purpose behind the research staffing cuts is obvious. “They don’t want to encumber their minds with the facts,” he said of the government. “We always at Justice prided ourselves as being ‘stewards of the criminal law.’ We were seen as the go-to place for the facts and research on criminal policy, justice and corrections. That’s certainly no longer the case.”

He said morale has dropped as advisers conclude the government doesn’t want their advice. At a recent retirement party, an assistant deputy minister he wouldn’t name “confirmed that they’re not bothering to put as much background data as they used to into anything going into the minister’s office or into memoranda to cabinet.”

In the 2010 C-37 Citizenship Act revisions, we only had three weeks to draft legislation which my staff and the lawyers were concerned about.

Not sure how much time was given to the drafting of the recent C-24 Citizenship Act comprehensive changes, but the Canadian Bar Association did comment on what they considered poor quality drafting (may be sniping between lawyers but I also found the changes hard to follow):

The government has an opportunity to improve the poor drafting in the current Act. However, Bill C-24 uses excessive cross-referencing within the Act and to previous citizenship legislation to the point of near incoherence. This results the legislation being inaccessible to the public as well as many public servants, politicians, lawyers, and judges, delayed processing times for citizenship applications and an increased backlog, and an increased burden on Canadian courts. Plain language drafting is in the interest of all parties.

Staffing cuts strain Justice Department – The Globe and Mail.

Filed under C-24, Citizenship, Government Tagged with , , , ,

Australian jihadists fighting overseas should be stripped of their citizenship | Malcolm Fraser

2014/08/20 Leave a comment

Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia 1975-83, advocating for citizenship revocation in cases of terrorism or fighting for foreign forces:

In Barwick’s time [1960-1], dual citizenship was rare. Today it is common. Australia would be totally justified in saying anyone who has dual citizenship will forthwith lose their Australian citizenship if they fight abroad with any other forces. Australians should only fight overseas with the Australian Armed Services. I don’t think any Australian should be able to fight in foreign wars, unless that action is supported by the Australian government. Importantly, that would preclude an Australian going to do national service in any other country.

If someone with dual citizenship wants to go overseas and fight in another country, they should then lose their Australian citizenship and have no right to return. The Australian government should do all in its power to bring such people before the International Criminal Court.

Not sure how Australian Jews would feel about such a broad definition, as it would include those fighting for the IDF.

Australian jihadists fighting overseas should be stripped of their citizenship | Malcolm Fraser | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

Filed under Citizenship, Revocation Tagged with ,

Ottawa urged to remove citizenship by birth on Canadian soil | Toronto Star

2014/08/19 2 Comments

Nicholas Keung’s story on the recently released under ATIP birth tourism briefing material (Citizenship Reform Proposal #19: Birth on Soil link to document), including my quote:

The proposal, marked “secret” and with inputs from various federal departments, found fewer than 500 cases of children being born to foreign nationals in Canada each year, amounting to just 0.14 per cent of the 360,000 total births per year in the country.

The issue of citizenship by birth on Canadian soil once again raises concerns among critics over the current government’s policy considerations being based on ideologies rather than evidence and objective cost-benefit analyses.

“An impartial observer would conclude that the evidence supports no need for change, given the small number of cases. Yet the recommendation supports the government’s public rhetoric and anecdotes on the need for change,” said Andrew Griffith, a former director general for citizenship and multiculturalism at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and author of Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias.

The Conservative government overhauled the Canadian Citizenship Act earlier this year by further restricting eligibility. However, the “birth on soil” provision was left intact and required further studies.

“Eliminating birth on soil in order to ensure that everyone who obtains citizenship at birth has a strong connection to Canada would have significant cost implications,” said the 17-page report prepared for former immigration minister Jason Kenney, obtained under an access to information request.

“The challenge of communicating this change would be convincing the public that restricting the acquisition of Canadian citizenship is worth that cost, particularly in a climate of deficit reduction.”

The office of Chris Alexander, Kenney’s successor, confirmed with the Star that the government is still reviewing citizenship policy with regard to the issue of “birth tourism” — a term referring to foreigners travelling to give birth in Canada so the baby can claim automatic citizenship here.

Dubbed “anchor babies,” these children are eligible to sponsor their foreign parents to Canada once they turn 18. It is unknown how many of them actually return to their birth country with their parents, but it’s believed the number is low.

“As provinces and territories are responsible for birth registration, consultation and co-ordination with the provinces is required,” said Alexis Pavlich, a spokesperson for Alexander.

“Canadian citizenship is an honour and a privilege, and our Conservative government is committed to increasing its value. Birth tourism undermines the integrity of our citizenship program and takes advantage of Canadian generosity.”

I have some outstanding ATIP requests to the key provinces (QC, ON, BC) on their data on “anchor babies” and will share when released.

And if you have a different take than me on Citizenship Reform Proposal #19: Birth on Soil, please share.

Ottawa urged to remove citizenship by birth on Canadian soil | Toronto Star.

Filed under Birthright Citizenship, Citizenship Tagged with , ,

A distinctly Canadian oath – I’ll swear to that – Yakabuski

2014/08/18 Leave a comment

Konrad Yakabuski, in an otherwise good overview of the Canadian oath of citizenship, misplaces the question of the oath with the question of being a republic.

“Constitutional monarchy is the best form of government that humanity has yet tried,” Dylan Matthews concluded in an empirical report, published last year in The Washington Post. “It has yielded rich, healthy nations whose regime transitions are almost always due to elections and whose heads of state are capable of being truly apolitical.”I’ll swear to that.

After all, Australia changed its citizenship oath while remaining a constitutional monarchy:

From this time forward, under God (under God optional),

I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,

whose democratic beliefs I share,

whose rights and liberties I respect, and

whose laws I will uphold and obey.

A distinctly Canadian oath – I’ll swear to that – The Globe and Mail.

The Star, argues the opposite from Yakabuski, noting Australia as above and the UK change for new citizens to  “give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms,” in addition to swearing allegiance to the Queen:

But that doesn’t mean the oath to the Queen cannot — or should not — be changed by the people and their Parliament. The very principles symbolized by the Crown guarantee the right of all Canadians to work through the constitutional system for this kind of political reform.

In fact, the oath of allegiance can — and should — be changed. Not because it violates any newcomer’s private political beliefs. It should be changed because a straightforward declaration of loyalty to Canada, its laws and traditions would be much more meaningful to the quarter million who choose this country every year.

Adopting an oath of allegiance to Canada would not affect the Canadian monarchy one bit. Elizabeth II would remain the Queen of Canada, and the Crown would remain the symbol of our constitutional, democratic system.

New citizens should pledge loyalty to Canada: Editorial

 

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with , ,

Kuwait and revoking citizenship – Al Arabiya News

2014/08/16 Leave a comment

The Gulf government view on extremism and revocation (not just for acts of terrorism but for extremist speech):

Extremist groups have realized that the silence of governments has enabled them to act freely, ensuring them protection and free movement especially if they are unarmed. These groups have now lost. Over the past few years, extremists succeeded in building mutually-reinforcing networks across borders, including with in the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Britain, France and other countries. Some were bold enough to threaten different factions of society, thus benefiting from the spread of terrorism.

However, this network is collapsing after governments decided to besiege it via different means. Political authorities found that targeting leaders is better than pursuing followers and that revoking citizenship will stop individuals who act as figure heads. This would send a strong message that the government will not be content with security checks and lawsuits but will resort to exerting its maximum power to bring down figures whom it considers dangerous to its national security.

Kuwait and revoking citizenship – Al Arabiya News.

Filed under Citizenship, Radicalization, Revocation Tagged with , ,

Virginia Hillis, Gwendolyn Deegan sue Ottawa over new FATCA tax rules

2014/08/16 1 Comment

For those who follow implementation of the US FATCA, this Canadian court case will be of interest. My understanding from those who follow FATCA closely, the deal Canada struck with the US is more protective of Canadian rights than that signed with other countries (see The Franco-American Flophouse for regular updates):

The women are American-born dual citizens of Canada and the U.S who left the states in childhood and have lived in Canada for decades. They argue the recently enacted Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act violates their rights as Canadians under the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms.

Windsor, Ont., resident Virginia Hillis, 68, and Torontonian Gwendolyn Louise Deegan, 52, stepped up as the figureheads of a fight that has hundreds of thousands of Canadian residents fuming.

Both women were born in the U.S. but have never worked south of the border, and as such have never paid or filed U.S. taxes. Indeed, neither has ever had or used a U.S. passport.

“Gwen … has travelled to the United States in the past and has been questioned by a border officer as to why she, a person with a United States birthplace, does not have a United States passport to travel into and out of the United States, to which she always replies: Because I am a Canadian,” the pairs statement of claim reads.

Nonetheless, under the agreement that Ottawa agreed to comply with in February, Canadian banks are now obliged to hand over names and account numbers to the IRS of any clients that Uncle Sam suspects are U.S citizens.

Virginia Hillis, Gwendolyn Deegan sue Ottawa over new FATCA tax rules – Business – CBC News.

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The oath to the Queen is constitutional – as is changing it – Globe Editorial

2014/08/15 Leave a comment

Globe Editorial on the recent court ruling on the citizenship oath (ruling itself not surprising):

The oath – which is a constitutional requirement for MPs, and a legal obligation for new citizens and many officials within our system of government and justice – is a pledge to respect the deepest and highest principles of Canada’s Constitution. And those principles include the right to freedom of belief and conscience, democratic participation and the working of change by peaceful and democratic means. The constitutional order is strong and supple enough that, from 1993 to 1997, Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition was a party dedicated to dismembering the country. Yet Bloc Québécois MPs could take the oath to the Queen and, simultaneously and in good conscience, call for the removal of Quebec from Canada. In taking their oath, they were pledging allegiance to the democratic and legal processes of our constitutional order – not to the person or beliefs of the sovereign.

Want a constitutional monarchy with, say, the governor-general as the head of state? An elected head of state? No head of state? Want to write the Queen out of the oath, or get rid of all oaths? You can take the oath to the Queen, and then work for that. To do so will not offend the Queen, the law or the Constitution. Working through violent or illegal means would be a failure to bear true allegiance, as promised in the oath. But to advocate legally, non-violently and democratically for a change in Canada’s laws or system of government, including even the abolition of the monarchy? To do so would respect the Constitution that the monarchy represents.

Having spent years pushing their case against the monarchy through the courts, the complainants have become the embodiment of our Constitution’s inherent reasonableness. In Canada, it is not just possible to take an oath to the Queen and oppose the existence of the monarchy. Being able to do so is a fundamental right. It is the whole point of our constitutional order.

Should the oath to the Queen be rewritten? The Constitution, like the oath itself, neither demands nor forbids it. It leaves that question to the only people qualified to decide: Canadians and their democratically elected governments.

The oath to the Queen is constitutional – as is changing it – The Globe and Mail.

The related news story:

The three longtime permanent residents had argued before the Ontario Court of Appeal that they oppose the oath on religious or conscientious grounds, arguing the requirement was discriminatory and unjust.

“The purpose of the oath is not to compel expression,” wrote Justice Karen Weiler. “But to obtain a commitment to our form of government from those writing to become Canadian citizens. If there is a violation of the appellants rights to freedom of expression, it is justified.”

Oath to the Queen upheld by Ontario Court of Appeal – Toronto – CBC News.

Filed under Citizenship

Kuwait citizenship row a risk for business, too

2014/08/14 Leave a comment

Vignette from the Gulf and the Kuwaiti approach to citizenship and revocation. Given the large number of expatriate workers, both lower and higher skilled in the region, all states there have restrictive citizenship rights and depend largely on guest workers.

The Canadian government did not cite Kuwait as one of its models for revocation (Canada does, unlike recent UK measures, have an exception for those who would be left stateless):

Nationality has long been a fraught subject in Kuwait, home to an estimated 100,000 stateless individuals. The country’s so-called bidoon from the Arabic word for without, or stateless persons are unable to find legal work or access social services; some find odd jobs on the black market but most live in abject poverty. Many were born in Kuwait and claim that their parents – bedouins or members of other nomadic communities – were not able or aware that they needed to register to obtain citizenship when Kuwait became independent. While the government admits some of these residents deserve citizenship, it says others have arrived from third countries in hopes of accessing the country’s generous welfare system.

The creation of a new stateless class could complicate things further. None of the individuals who have lost their passports so far have other nationalities, meaning they have effectively joined the ranks for the bidoon.

Kuwait citizenship row a risk for business, too / 08 / 2014 / Insights / Home – Monitor Global Outlook | A Premium Service of The Christian Science Monitor.

Filed under Citizenship, Revocation Tagged with ,

Baby Gammy, whose parents left him with Thai surrogate mom, may still be eligible for Australian citizenship

2014/08/06 Leave a comment

The complications arising from surrogacy in the case of the Australian couple who didn’t accept their child with Down’s syndrome. Apart from the broader moral issues involved, the citizenship aspects are of interest:

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told Sydney Radio 2GB on Monday that Pattaramon “is an absolute hero” and “a saint,” adding that the law surrounding the case “is very, very murky.”

“We are taking a close look at what can be done here, but I wouldn’t want to raise any false hopes or expectations,” Morrison said. “We are dealing with something that has happened in another country’s jurisdiction.”

Morrison’s office later said in a statement that “the child may be eligible for Australian citizenship,” without elaborating.

Australian citizens are entitled to free health care in Australia.

In Sri Racha on Sunday, Pattaramon said that she was not angry with the biological parents for leaving Gammy behind, and that she hoped they would take care of the boy’s twin sister they took with them.

“I’ve never felt angry at them or hated them. I’m always willing to forgive them,” Pattaramon told The Associated Press. “I want to see that they love the baby girl as much as my family loves Gammy. I want her to be well taken care of.”Pattaramon was promised 300,000 baht $9,300 by a surrogacy agency in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, to be a surrogate for the Australian couple, but she has not been fully paid since the children were born last December.

If I recall correctly, for a surrogate baby born abroad to be eligible for Canadian citizenship, the genetic material from one of the parents must be Canadian (see Couple fights federal surrogacy policy to bring their boy back to Canada).

Baby Gammy, whose parents left him with Thai surrogate mom, may still be eligible for Australian citizenship.

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with , ,

Residents urged to apply for Canadian citizenship to avoid hurdles on horizon

2014/08/05 Leave a comment

Nicholas Keung’s story on the coming-into-force provisions of C-24 Citizenship Act, and some concrete stories about some who will be affected:

When Ottawa enacted the new law in June, many, including frontline immigrant settlement workers, assumed it would take effect immediately and that little could be done to beat its more restrictive criteria.

In fact, some of the most controversial changes — requiring citizenship applicants to be present in Canada for four years out of six rather than three years out of four, and raising the age of exemption from language and citizenship tests to 65, from 55 — won’t come into force until next June, immigration officials confirmed to the Star.

“We want to tell people it’s not too late, and they should take advantage of the old rules,” said Ann McRae, executive director of the Rexdale legal clinic, a member of the Inter-Clinic Immigration Working Group.

At the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, staff have reached out to community groups to deliver workshops and help clients file citizenship applications.

“All the changes were rushed through so quickly that people are confused,” said clinic lawyer Karin Baqi. “Those who are eligible today may not be eligible tomorrow. We have to get the word out.”

Remon Kirkor came here from Iraq with his wife and three daughters in 2007. The family met the three-year residence requirement in 2010. Yet, Kirkor, 44, hasn’t applied for citizenship, because he knows that as a high school dropout he would have a tough time passing the language test or the citizenship knowledge exam offered only in English and French.

“I work 20 hours a day to support my family. By day, I am a window installer. At night, I work as a dishwasher,” Kirkor, a former truck driver for UNICEF, said through his daughter, Mariam. “I have no time to sleep. I have no time to study English.”

Residents urged to apply for Canadian citizenship to avoid hurdles on horizon | Toronto Star.

Filed under C-24, Citizenship, Citizenship Act Tagged with ,

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