Immigration Minister John McCallum repealed provisions of Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, that allow for some Canadians to be stripped of their citizenship. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” McCallum told the Globe and Mail newspaper. McCallum also said Thursday that he’ll work with his counterpart, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, to rewrite the government of Canada’s citizenship guide, previously overhauled under the leadership of former Conservative minister Jason Kenney. The current book is “a little heavy on the War of 1812 and barbaric cultural practices,” he told reporters.
OTTAWA – The Liberals campaigned on a promise to revoke the “anti-immigrant” measures by the previous Conservative government and have now made good on their pledge.
McCallum introduced his new bill when the House of Commons began sitting Thursday.
The new Liberal government has repealed a controversial citizenship law the Conservatives passed in 2014, which many immigrants criticized as anti-immigrant.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said the government will reverse provisions of Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, that allow for some Canadians to be stripped of their citizenship, reported the Globe and Mail newspaper.
“A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” McCallum told the Globe’s Michelle Zilio.
Bill C-24 makes it so that new immigrants to Canada can see their citizenship revoked at the discretion of government bureaucrats.
For example, the legislation provides for citizenship to be rescinded if it is decided an individual fails to show “intent” to reside in Canada. Immigrants can also lose their citizenship if they are found guilty of a crime. These kinds of changes will all be reversed.
McCallum also told the Globe the government will revisit provisions of Bill C-24 that make it more complicated for some people to obtain citizenship.
“We believe that it’s better to make it easier rather than harder for people to become citizens,” McCallum said.
“It will still be possible to revoke citizenship, as it always has been, for those who misrepresent who they are or who are guilty of citizenship fraud,” McCallum told reporters.
“I think under the previous law there was a risk of a slippery slope,” he said. “If one crime made you eligible for revocation this year, what crimes could be added next year?”
“We do have a criminal justice system. We do have courts. We do have prisons where those convicted of crimes are sent. And that is the way in which we deal with this.”
Justin Trudeau went on the attack during last fall’s election debate on foreign policy, telling Stephen Harper that his government’s move to strip citizenship from individuals convicted of crimes against the state created two classes of citizenship.
McCallum also said Thursday that he’ll work with his counterpart, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, to rewrite the government of Canada’s citizenship guide, previously overhauled under the leadership of former Conservative minister Jason Kenney.
The current book is “a little heavy on the War of 1812 and barbaric cultural practices,” he told reporters.
