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| Subject: Enforcing old law puts citizenship at risk |
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Enforcing old law puts citizenship at risk: Critics
By KATHLEEN HARRIS -- Sun Media
Some Canadians could unknowingly lose their citizenship and even be rendered "stateless" under a decades-old law that´s now being enforced.
A letter from Monte Solberg to MPs, written just days before he was shuffled from the immigration minister´s job, says people born outside Canada -- to a Canadian parent also born outside Canada -- must apply to retain their citizenship before their 28th birthday. The obscure provision under the Citizenship Act was installed in 1977 to "safeguard the value of citizenship," but only began to potentially affect people as of Feb. 15, 2005.
The feds are now underscoring the little-known policy by stamping an expiry date on citizenship certificates that will be revoked if the individual doesn´t apply for retention.
´TWO CLASSES´
Toronto immigration lawyer Joel Sandaluk is not aware of any Canadian who has lost their citizenship yet, but he worried many will by default.
"This creates two classes of Canadian citizens," he said. "The distinction between the two classes is essentially the birthplace of the citizen´s parent. This is a huge step backwards.
"This puts pretty serious limitations on people´s citizenship in a way that is pretty arbitrary."
Sandaluk is also concerned the policy will create a new class of "stateless" persons because their birth country may not provide citizenship.
Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis is outraged by the policy he had never heard and plans to press the Commons Immigration committee to repeal the section that has been "hidden in the books."
Greg Willoughby, a London, Ont.-based citizenship lawyer, said the Lebanon evacuation crisis ignited a debate over "citizenship of convenience." He conceded the policy might catch unwitting resident Canadians as they apply for pension or a new passport, but he doesn´t fault a policy designed to require ties to Canada in order to retain citizenship.
"I also think politically they´re sending a message saying if you have no connection to Canada, you´re no longer a Canadian citizen."
[27-01-2007,18:05]
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KATHLEEN HARRIS |
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