Expat voting: Court denies Ottawas fight for 5-year rule for voters abroad

2014/06/25 Leave a comment

While the Government failed to get a stay for the by-elections this coming Monday, expect that the Government will make a formal appeal of the earlier decision removing the five-year limit for the 2015 elections (see earlier Expat voters launch legal challenge of ‘5-year rule’):

In Mondays ruling denying the federal governments request of a stay, Justice Robert Sharpe wrote that while there was “an arguable appeal” from the Attorney General of Canada, “the balance of convenience weights in favour of refusing a stay.”

Sharpe dismissed the government’s argument that it could cause “irreparable harm” if a close election came down to the single vote of a non-resident who, it might turn out, was ineligible to vote. But such a scenario would be “fairly remote,” Sharpe said.

He also reasoned that Elections Canada had already taken administrative steps to allow citizens abroad to vote after the lower court ruling, and it was counterproductive to “undo what [Elections Canada] has already done.”

Only 13 Canadian ex-pats have so far registered to vote since the May decision.

Even so, Sharpe wrote today: “To grant a stay in this case would require Elections Canada to rescind the registrations of up to 13 non-resident electors and claw back the vote of citizens who may well in the end have the right to cast their ballot.”

Expat voting: Court denies Ottawas fight for 5-year rule for voters abroad – Politics – CBC News.

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Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian injustice and Canada’s spineless response: Neil Macdonald

2014/06/25 Leave a comment

Good overview piece on Ottawa’s reaction to Mohammed Fahmy’s sentence.

Does seem a bit out of step with the normal language and rhetoric out of the Government, and particularly out of step with the US, UK and Australia:

The government of Canada, on the day that one of its citizens was sentenced to a long prison term in Egypt for the crime of committing journalism, was moved to note that Egyptians are, after all, “progressing toward democracy.”

And, added our prime minister’s parliamentary secretary, “We don’t want to insult them.”Because, you know, that would just be rude.

Instead, the government in Ottawa, which runs around the world, chin out and elbows up, lecturing other governments about respecting human rights and democratic self-determination, prefers soft-spoken diplomacy toward the regime in Cairo….

It’s probably best, the Harper government has apparently concluded, to remain largely silent as a journalist who carries a Canadian passport is sent off to some hellishly violent Egyptian prison for doing his job.

Best to have cabinet members avoid cameras on this sensitive and unsettling day, instead sending out Harper’s parliamentary secretary, Paul Callandra, to advise against giving any insult to Cairo.

Technically speaking, this foreign conviction could trigger revocation (the Government refused an amendment to the Citizenship Act requiring an explicit test of equivalence in judicial processes), although unlikely the Government would do so.

Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian injustice and Canada’s spineless response: Neil Macdonald – World – CBC News.

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Dual citizenship can complicate diplomatic protection

2014/06/25 Leave a comment

A good overview on some of the implications on dual citizenship when visiting one’s country of origin, in light of the Mohammed Fahmy verdict (Mohamed Fahmy, jailed Egyptian-Canadian journalist, sentenced to 7 years).

A counter example to some of the comments on the Government side during the debate on C-24 Citizenship Act, who talked about the benefits of dual citizenship, not the risks.

As Macklin notes, some countries do not allow dual nationals to enter with their Canadian passports:

As well, unlike Canada, many countries, in particular non-G8 countries, do not recognize dual citizenship. Canada doesn’t require an individual to give up any citizenship of another country. But whether that persons country of origin recognizes their dual citizenship is a question from country to country, Niren said.

Some applicants will have to give up their home citizenship because they’re not going to be recognized anymore. For example, many Chinese nationals coming to Canada must give up their Chinese citizenship, as China doesn’t recognize dual citizenship.

A government of Canada website also cautions Canadians who have dual citizenship that it “may not be legal in the country of your second nationality, which could result in serious difficulties.

“You may have outstanding obligations in the second country, such as military service or taxes. Dual citizenship can also cause problems in a third country if there is confusion over which citizenship you used to gain entry,” the website says. It advises people to contact the appropriate foreign government office in Canada before heading abroad.

Some countries may also feel more justified on their claim on a dual citizen who has gotten in trouble with the law if that person used that country’s passport to enter.

An easy solution for Canadians would seem to be to always use their Canadian passport.

But “some countries take the position that they don’t mind if you’re a dual citizen, we don’t care, but when you’re coming into our country, you use your passport from this country,” Macklin said.

Dual citizenship can complicate diplomatic protection – Canada – CBC News.

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Chris Selley: Stripping jihadis’ citizenship feels good. But what good does it do?

2014/06/21 1 Comment

Another good column by Chris Selley on citizenship revocation (see his earlier Actually, my citizenship is a right | National Post). Quite funny in places too, but his fundamental point is serious:

But that only leads us to the biggest question, which is why we would want to banish terrorists at all — not in our guts which is understandable but as policy. British terrorism suspects recently stripped of their citizenship are currently at large in Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Afghanistan and other places that could certainly use fewer terrorism suspects rather than more. Home Secretary Theresa May has denaturalized and deported at least one British citizen over the advice of her own security officials, who would have much preferred to keep an eye on him.

FOX News types pitch a fit whenever a former Guantanamo detainee pops up on the frontlines — as many have. They went nuts when it emerged the Americans released Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from custody in Iraq in 2009, only to have to deal with him now as leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

You can’t keep people in custody forever. Sometimes you have to make tough choices and cross your fingers. But why would we deliberately choose to set ostensibly dangerous people loose in the Middle East? No doubt it would give some of us a cheap thrill. But Chris Alexander is not Minister of Cheap Thrills.

National Post | Chris Selley: Stripping jihadis’ citizenship feels good. But what good does it do?

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Ottawa to fight court ruling giving ex-pats a vote

2014/06/21 2 Comments

“Is there a substantial change in the ex-pat Canadian citizen that takes place after five years and one day?” O’Brien asked in court.

Well, not for one day after, but the longer one lives outside Canada, the less the direct connection to Canadian issues and debates, not to mention expatriates do not pay Canadian taxes. Government is right on this one.

Ottawa to fight court ruling giving ex-pats a vote – Politics – CBC News.

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Government welcomes Royal Assent of Bill C-24, Civil Liberties Groups Plan Legal Challenge

2014/06/20 Leave a comment

Key messages from the CIC’s Press Release:

Improving efficiency

Canada’s citizenship program is being improved by reducing the decision-making process from three steps to one. It is expected that, by 2015–2016, this change will bring the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under a year. It is also projected that by 2015-2016, the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent.

Reinforcing the value of Canadian citizenship

The government is ensuring citizenship applicants maintain strong ties to Canada. These amendments to the Citizenship Act provide a clearer indication that the “residence” period to qualify for citizenship in fact requires physical presence in Canada.

More applicants will now be required to meet language requirements and pass a knowledge test to ensure that new citizens are better prepared to fully participate in Canadian society. New provisions will also help individuals with strong ties to Canada, such as by automatically extending citizenship to additional “Lost Canadians” who were born before 1947 as well as to their children born in the first generation outside Canada.

Cracking down on citizenship fraud

The updated Citizenship Act includes stronger penalties for fraud and misrepresentation a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or five years in prison and expands the grounds to bar an application for citizenship to include foreign criminality, which will help improve program integrity.

Protecting and promoting Canada’s interests and values

Finally, the amendments bring Canada in line with most of our peer countries, by providing that citizenship can be revoked from dual nationals who are convicted of serious crimes such as terrorism, high treason and spying offences depending on the sentence received or who take up arms against Canada. Permanent residents who commit these acts will be barred from citizenship.

As a way of recognizing the important contributions of those who serve Canada in uniform, permanent residents who are members of the Canadian Armed Forces will have quicker access to Canadian citizenship. The Act also stipulates that children born to Canadian parents serving abroad as servants of the Crown are able to pass on Canadian citizenship to children they have or adopt outside Canada.

Government welcomes Royal Assent of Bill C-24 – Canada News Centre.

And the press release from the Canadian Association Of Refugee Lawyers and British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA):

Bill C-24, introducing sweeping changes to Canada’s citizenship laws that make citizenship harder to get and easier to lose, has passed through the House of Commons and is now being considered by the Senate.  CARL, BCCLA and Amnesty International take the position that this proposed law has dramatically negative effects on Canadian citizenship, eliminating equal citizenship rights for all, and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as international human rights. According to the organizations, the new law will take away rights from countless Canadians, creating a two-tier citizenship regime that discriminates against dual nationals and naturalized citizens.

“This proposed law would allow certain Canadians to be stripped of citizenship that was validly obtained by birth or by naturalization. We think that is unconstitutional, and we intend to challenge this law if it is passed,” said Lorne Waldman, President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers. “We have presented our arguments to the House of Commons and to the Senate, in an attempt to get them to change or stop this Bill. But the government hasn’t listened, it refuses to amend the bill, and we feel we will have little choice but to challenge it in the courts.” …

“The ‘Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act’ does exactly the opposite of what the title proclaims. It makes citizenship less secure,” said Josh Paterson, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association. “In Canada, lawfully-obtained citizenship has always been permanent – once a Canadian, always a Canadian – and all Canadians have always had equal citizenship rights. This bill turns the whole idea of being Canadian upside-down, so that the Canadian citizenship of some people will be worth less than the Canadian citizenship of others. That is wrong, and it must be challenged.”

PRESS RELEASE: New citizenship law will be challenged on constitutional grounds, if passed, say rights groups

In case you missed it, my assessment, The new citizenship act is efficient. Is it fair?

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Ottawa spends more on military history amid criticism over support for veterans

2014/06/20 Leave a comment

Seems a bit of a unidimensional celebration of Canada’s history in the lead-up to 2017:

The commemorative budget includes roughly $32-million for the Department of National Defence over seven years and nearly $50-million over three years at the Departments of Veterans Affairs for public education, ceremonies, events and remembrance partnerships, according to figures compiled by The Globe and Mail. The budget also includes several million dollars through the Department of Canadian Heritage, the figures show.

This funding is not a complete tally and is in addition to the tens of millions of dollars the Conservatives already dedicated to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the conflict with the United States the government billed as “The Fight for Canada.”

National Defence has created a special program called “Operation Distinction” to oversee a spate of commemorations, chiefly important anniversaries of the First World War and Second World War. The initiative spans all the way to 2020, which will mark the 75th anniversary of the Second World War’s Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day.

Ottawa wants to use these occasions to build a “greater understanding that Canada’s development as an independent country with a unique identity stems in significant part from its achievement in times of war,” according to a January 2014 memo from Chief of the Defence Staff General Tom Lawson obtained under access-to-information law.

The government has made boosting appreciation of Canada’s military tradition a priority, in part to fashion a more conservative national identity. It’s cultivated an image as pro-military since taking power but in recent years has alienated a vocal group of veterans and their families, upset over what they consider insufficient federal support.

Ottawa spends more on military history amid criticism over support for veterans – The Globe and Mail.

And:

Return to old-style uniform insignia costs Canadian Forces millions

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Conservatives’ downfall could be Stephen Harper’s dismissive tone: Walkom

2014/06/19 Leave a comment

Interesting choice of Minister Alexander as example:

Tone is something different.

What may eventually defeat Harper is that his government appears mean-spirited. It doesn’t just disagree with its critics. It mercilessly derides them.

Take, for example, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s defence of the government’s new citizenship bill. This sweeping bill would allow the government to revoke the Canadian citizenship of dual nationals deemed by the government to have acted against the national interest.

As such, it would include in its purview not only many new immigrants but those native-born Canadians who, through no action of their own, still hold the nationality of their parents. The Canadian-born child of an Egyptian-father, for instance, is automatically accorded Egyptian citizenship by the authorities in Cairo.

The Canadian Bar Association has called the proposed revocation provision “unfair and discriminatory.” Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati makes a convincing argument that it is also unconstitutional.Alexander’s substantive response has been that many other NATO countries reserve the right to revoke citizenship from the native-born.

But what has stood out is the minister’s take-no-prisoners tone. In the Commons, he called the Canadian Bar Association’s well-argued critique “hopelessly misguided.”

And when opposition MPs queried the bill, his response was to call into question former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who, he said, had eliminated treason as grounds for citizenship revocation “at a time when the Liberal Party was playing footsie with Moscow.”

Conservatives’ downfall could be Stephen Harper’s dismissive tone: Walkom | Toronto Star.

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A Torontonians journey to the heart of Italian politics

2014/06/19 Leave a comment

Interesting example of dual loyalties: being in a foreign parliament representing expatriates:

“It’s a highly precarious political situation,” she [Francesca La Marca] says. “There’s always drama and controversy – but that’s Italy for you.”

Ms. La Marca grew up in west-end Toronto admiring Bob Rae and Jack Layton, but she was immersed in Italy’s dramatics from her earliest years. Her Sicilian-born father was active in Italy’s Socialist Party, and together they followed the latest developments from a fractured country that is perpetually critical of its political status quo.“

Like many Italian-Canadians, he had a strong sense of nostalgia,” she says. “He wanted to see Italy more just and more efficient.”

The dual citizen found the same desire welling in her as a worldly Toronto teenager in the 1990s when she watched her Sicilian contemporaries marching in the streets to protest the murder of crusading judges by the all-powerful Mafiosi – a transformative moment that prompted many Italians in her generation to enter politics and seek a culture shift, including the 39-year-old Prime Minister Renzi.

That level of political engagement, she says, marks a key difference from Canada.

“You look at Italian TV shows, you can’t get away from the constant debates. Politicians are there talking about issues and members of the public are putting them on the hot seat, and asking them very direct questions.

“I think it comes down to a different history and culture Italians are always on the streets conversing and arguing. They realize they have to fight to get somewhere, while we’re a more sheltered country that’s made up of different cultures, so we’re focused on getting along and getting things done.”

No matter how Italian she might feel in the more reticent parts of Toronto, her strong sense of Canadianness takes over in the unrepressed Italian system.

“There has to be a way to work effectively without all this excess,” she says. “Many people have this impression that Italy is very laid back and nothing gets done. Instead, it’s quite the opposite – really long hours, lots of meetings, and it’s not uncommon to finish at 10 or 11 at night. The stereotype of Italians being big talkers, meaning everything drags on and on, is absolutely true.”

She hopes to bring some Canadian efficiency to the competitive Italian political style by focusing on issues specific to the expatriate voters who elected her last year: She helps people obtain dual citizenship, get better access to health care when they return to Italy for extended periods, and source funding for teaching Italian language and culture in North America.

A Torontonians journey to the heart of Italian politics – The Globe and Mail.

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C-24 Citizenship Act – Passed by Senate Committee 17 June

2014/06/18 Leave a comment

Clause-by-clause review of Bill C-24 by Senate Committee had no surprises, with Government using majority to approve Bill without amendment.

Debate started with Senator Eggleton’s motion to defer clause-by-clause review given the need for more discussion on the evidence regarding difficulties with the Bill. He noted:

The Bill is  “headed for nowhere. Even if passed, it will be challenged and go to the Supreme Court. It is better to come to grips with the changes needed. I don’t know what it is, the government decides or officials lead them down the garden path. It is not good for the country that so many bills are rejected by the Supreme Court.”

Eggleton contrasted the consultations that took place during the 1977 revisions to the Citizenship Act with the lack of public consultations on C-24, supported by Senator Cordy.

Senator Eaton for the Government countered:

“The Bill was very well thought out.” Department officials had laid out the steps required for revocation. Revocation has the court system to fall back upon.

She strongly disagreed on the likelihood of court challenges. If there be challenges, “so be it.” Those who are opposed have a “conflict of interest given that it involves their business” as lawyers. “I think it will go much more smoothly.”

Motion to defer clause by clause review was defeated along party lines.

Eggleton proposed 4 amendments, all defeated along party lines:

  • Elimination of intent-to-reside;
  • Reversal of language test requirements for those between 55-64 years old;
  • Restoration of pre-permanent residency time for temporary residents (international students, live-in caregivers, temporary foreign workers):
  • Restoration of full right of appeal to the Federal Court for any revocation decisions, whether for fraud or national security (treason or terror).

Eggleton proposed an observation to the report regarding the impact of the increase in fees, noting the burden this placed on low-income families and refugees, and that the US could waive fees in such cases. He proposed that the Minister should consider introducing a similar provision. This observation was supported unanimously.

With that, C-24 proceeds to a full vote by the Senate and Royal Assent.

And likely, sooner than later, some court challenges.

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