In a lovely coincidence of timing (for me personally), our pal Jason Kenney announced yesterday new guidelines designed to "strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship".
According to Kenney, "Canadian citizenship is more than a legal status, more than a passport. We expect citizens to have an ongoing commitment, connection and loyalty to Canada." In order to enforce this commitment and loyalty, Kenney has introduced legislation to make it easier for the government to revoke citizenship, cut down on supposed fraud, strengthen one-generation limits on passing on citizenship, and in the usual one positive move they throw in to any creepy bill, crack down on unscrupulous citizenship consultants who take advantage of immigrants.
The bill - Bill C-37: Strengthening the Value of Canadian Citizenship Act - does not propose removing dual citizenship rights. There seems to be wide agreement that that will not fly in Canada.
So it seems like the legislation is not as bad as many people feared after the Throne Speech. I do have concerns about allowing the government more leeway in revoking citizenship. Who might that be used for, I wonder? But mostly the bill reads like a hodge-podge of nonsense aimed to placate the anti-immigration crowd without much real substance.
Details of Bill C-37: Strengthening the Value of Canadian Citizenship Act are here.
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