Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - January 2009
Critics are speaking out against a new citizenship policy proposed by the Conservative government last December.
The policy in question would make it no longer possible for Canadian citizens born outside the country to pass on their citizen status to their own foreign-born children.
According to a government spokesperson, the new policy will “protect the value of Canadian citizenship” by no longer allowing status to be “passed on through generations living abroad who may have little or no attachment to Canada.”
Critics argue that the government is sending mixed messages on the issue, as it was the Conservatives themselves who earlier passed regulations that automatically granted citizenship status to foreign-born children adopted by Canadians.
Furthermore, critics say that the government is potentially creating “stateless” children, as not all nations automatically grant status to children who are born to foreign parents within their borders.
The new rule will be implemented as of April 17. It will not affect anyone who is already a Canadian citizen, nor government employees working abroad such as soldiers and diplomats.
Source: Calgary Herald
