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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Canada's new bill to grant citizenship to thousands of people
Live Events A proposed bill in Canada could open the path to citizenship for thousands, potentially impacting Indian-origin residents and skilled workers. Immigration Minister Lena Diab tabled legislation Thursday to restore citizenship to the " lost Canadians " after a court found the existing law term refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country. In 2009, the federal Conservative government of the day changed the law so that Canadians who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship if their child was born outside of law was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in December 2023 and the Liberal government did not challenge the ruling. The government received its fourth deadline extension to pass legislation to address the issue in April.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)It applied for a one-year extension, but Justice Jasmine Akbarali set a Nov. 20 deadline, saying that should be enough time for the government to implement "remedial legislation" if it makes it a "priority."Akbarali has criticized the government's handling of the legislation in her decisions to grant extensions, citing the harm that could follow if the Stephen Harper-era law were to be declared invalid without replacement born in Canada automatically receive Canadian citizenship at birth, regardless of the nationality of their parents, subject to some exceptions, such as children of foreign of second-generation Canadian citizens who meet the substantial connection to Canada test need not wait for the legislation to pass; they can already apply for discretionary grants of Canadian citizenship under the existing interim measures.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa retables ‘Lost Canadians' bill in bid to restore citizenship rights before court deadline
The federal government has reintroduced a bill to grant citizenship to 'Lost Canadians' – children born abroad to foreign-born Canadians – after an attempt by the Liberals to restore their right to hold a passport died before the election. The Liberals introduced a bill in the last Parliament to restore citizenship to 'Lost Canadians.' But it was one of more than 20 bills stopped in their tracks by the proroguing of Parliament ahead of the federal election. The Ontario Superior Court ruled in December 2023 that it is unconstitutional to deny citizenship to children born in another country to Canadians also born outside Canada. The last Liberal government did not appeal the ruling and the court granted the government a series of extensions – until November this year – to make changes to the law. On Thursday, Immigration Minister Lena Diab reintroduced the bill to make changes to the Citizenship Act. Bill C-3 requires Canadian parents born abroad to demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada before they can pass on citizenship to a child born outside Canada. They would need to have a cumulative 1,095 days – the equivalent of three years – spent in Canada before the birth or adoption of the child seeking citizenship. The bill is meant to reverse a change by Stephen Harper's Conservative government in 2009 that stripped children of a Canadian parent born outside Canada of their automatic right to citizenship. The 2009 change was designed to crack down on what Conservatives called 'Canadians of convenience.' It followed an outcry after Canada spent more than $80-million to evacuate 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon in 2006 during the Israel-Hezbollah war. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated that the bill could create around 115,000 new citizens in the next five years. Renée LeBlanc Proctor, spokesperson for the minister, said the restrictions to citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad had led to 'unacceptable consequences for Canadians whose children were born outside the country.' She said legislation would 'ensure the remaining cohort of Lost Canadians are properly recognized as citizens.' Don Chapman, a long-time advocate for restoring citizenship to Lost Canadians, welcomed the early introduction of a bill in the new Parliament. 'People, including children, are being denied their constitutional right of citizenship,' he said. 'Canada is too good of a country to allow its own citizens to be ostracized.' Toronto lawyer Sujit Choudhry, who filed the successful constitutional challenge to the Citizenship Act on behalf of 'Lost Canadian' clients, said the new bill was identical to the last, which he said 'died on the order paper because the government did not make it a legislative priority. 'The government must use every tool at its disposal to ensure that the same fate does not befall Bill C-3, which must be passed and brought into force by November 20, 2025,' he said.
CBC
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
'Lost Canadians' citizenship bill tabled as court deadline looms
Immigration Minister Lena Diab tabled legislation Thursday to restore citizenship to the "lost Canadians" after a court found the existing law unconstitutional. The term refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country. In 2009, the federal Conservative government of the day changed the law so that Canadians who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship if their child was born outside of Canada. That law was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in December 2023 and the Liberal government did not challenge the ruling. The government received its fourth deadline extension to pass legislation to address the issue in April. It applied for a one-year extension, but Justice Jasmine Akbarali set a Nov. 20 deadline, saying that should be enough time for the government to implement "remedial legislation" if it makes it a "priority." Akbarali has criticized the government's handling of the legislation in her decisions to grant extensions, citing the harm that could follow if the Stephen Harper-era law were to be declared invalid without replacement legislation. NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the bill was delayed in the last session of Parliament by the Liberals' failure to act in a "timely fashion" and a Conservative filibuster that stalled the House of Commons' work for months. "The court has given the government yet another extension, and it would be incumbent on this Parliament to make sure that legislation is passed," Kwan said. The previous "lost Canadians" citizenship bill died on the order paper when the House prorogued earlier this year. The Senate was engaged in an early study of the legislation to help it become law quickly. The new legislation, Bill C-3, proposes giving automatic citizenship to anyone denied citizenship under the current law. It also would establish a new framework for citizenship by descent going forward. The legislation proposes Canadian citizenship could be passed down to people born abroad, beyond the first generation, if their parents spent a cumulative three years in Canada before the child's birth or adoption.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘Lost Canadians' bill tabled after judge sets November deadline for passage
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Diab takes part in the cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Lena Diab tabled legislation today to restore citizenship to 'Lost Canadians' after a court found the existing law unconstitutional. 'Lost Canadians' refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country. In 2009, the Conservative federal government of the day changed the law so that Canadians who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada. That law was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in Dec. 2023 and the Liberal government did not challenge the ruling. The government received its fourth deadline extension to pass legislation to address the issue in April. The government applied for a one-year extension but Justice Jasmine Akbarali set a November 20 deadline, saying that should be enough time for the government to implement 'remedial legislation' if it makes it a 'priority.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Immigration minister defends border bill's restrictions on asylum claims
OTTAWA - Safeguards have been written into the government's border bill to ensure civil rights and due process are upheld in proposed immigration regulations, Immigration Minister Lena Diab said Wednesday. Critics and advocacy groups are calling the wide-ranging border security legislation a threat to civil liberties in the immigration and asylum system. One proposed change in the legislation would prevent people from making asylum claims if they've been in Canada for more than a year. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That change would not affect applications that have been submitted already but would be retroactive to June 3, assuming the bill becomes law. Diab said there would still be opportunities for asylum seekers who have been in Canada for more than a year to make their case through measures like pre-removal risk assessments. 'There's a lot of applications in the system and so this is will streamline it to ensure that those newcomers, or those people that really need our protection and use the asylum system, are processed faster,' she said. The 127-page bill, unveiled Tuesday, would give authorities new powers to search mail and expand the Canadian Coast Guard's role to include security activities. There are several other immigration measures are in the bill. They include giving authorities the power to cancel or suspend immigration documents for health or national security reasons, closing a loophole that allows people to make an asylum claim 14 days after crossing the U.S. land border, and allowing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to share the personal information of immigrants and refugees with provincial and territorial governments. Immigration lawyer Zool Suleman said the information-sharing proposal poses a threat to the civil liberties of all Canadians. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Everybody thinks they have nothing to hide. You'd be amazed at how much we do want to hide in terms of the personal lives that we lead in this country and that we have a right to lead in the country,' he said. 'The real issue is that the government should not be delving into your private life unless they have cause. And so what this bill is really doing is threatening the civil liberties of everybody in Canada.' Diab said the legislation includes a number of safeguards to protect personal information. She said the goal is to streamline information-sharing between branches of government that process immigration, citizenship and passport applications. 'These programs cannot share information together. So this at least will give us that ability to do that, but also share information with the provinces and territories where the need arises,' she said. Diab said information-sharing arrangements with provincial and territorial bodies would be outlined in agreements stating which information can be shared and when. 'Most Canadians probably think this is the sensible thing to do and in fact most probably think it exists already. Well, it does not,' Diab said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Diab said the final decision on cancelling or suspending immigration documents in the event of a health or public safety emergency would be made by cabinet. 'I think people, Canadians, should feel safe that we are putting all these safeguards in. But again, as I said, it's all part of protecting our country and protecting our system,' Diab said. Suleman said he has worried about a government giving itself this kind of power since the 2001 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act became law. 'People had predicted that this is the direction in which the government would go when it was passing this framework legislation. And what we find more than two decades later is it's exactly where the government has gone,' he said. 'They've taken on more and more authority for themselves with less and less safeguards for refugees and immigrants.' The legislation says that some asylum cases — such as those of migrants crossing by land from the U.S. — will no longer be sent to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for review. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'You will be subjected to a much lower level of review and much lower levels of safeguards. Essentially, what the government is trying to do for many, many refugee claimants is move to a paper review basis, not an oral review basis to determine their claims,' Suleman said. The government has been trying to cut the backlog in immigration and refugee applications and is reducing the number of permanent and temporary residents being admitted to Canada. Roxham Road in Quebec became a focal point for the immigration debate during the first Donald Trump presidency, with thousands of people claiming asylum after crossing the Canadian border onto the small rural road, about 50 kilometres south of Montreal. More recently, the government has reported an increase in the number of international students making asylum claims when their visas expire. Diab said the asylum system can't be used as a shortcut to immigration. 'If you want to immigrate to Canada, we have rules. We have processes. Please use them,' she said. — With files from Jim Bronskill This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. 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