39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 159
CONTENTS
Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Citizenship and Immigration

Hon. Andrew Telegdi (Kitchener—Waterloo, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to talk about the issue of lost Canadians about whom we have heard so much.

Today was another heart-rending day. Members of the citizenship and immigration committee heard compelling stories of children of war brides and how their citizenship was unjustly taken away from them.

We had the case of a couple of sisters who were children of a war bride. They came to this country in 1946. One was a baby, just months old, and the other one was three years old. They recently have found out that they are not citizens. The question comes into play whether they are entitled to old age security, the guaranteed annual supplement and whatnot.

Another tragic case is about a mother who came here to be with her daughter's family. Her daughter, who is a member of the Canadian armed forces, is slated to serve in Afghanistan, but she has found out she is not a Canadian. She does not have any proof of ID so she can get a driver's licence that she can use to help the four kids she will be looking after.

We have continually heard stories like this where offspring of war brides and war brides themselves do not have their citizenship recognized. At the other end, they have children that serve in the armed forces. This is so very wrong. The Prime Minister of the country has said that we should be honouring Canadian veterans, the people who have fought for our country, the people fighting for our country now in Afghanistan and the people who fought for our country in the second world war. It is incredibly shameful that we have not addressed this issue.

To its credit, the government came in with a limited proposal today, but this limited proposal would not apply to the people about whom I just talked. It would not apply to people who came here before 1947. Most of the war brides and their children came to Canada in 1946. This is really a shame.

This is another thing that is really a shame. When we look at the composition of the committee from the Conservative side, we really only have one person with any previous experience on the committee. The ministers do not have any experience, and this is the second minister the government has had in less than a year. Also, they come from ridings that do not have much of an immigrant population.

Clearly, if we believe that immigration has been the lifeblood of our country, that immigration is the lifeblood of our country and that immigration will continue to be the lifeblood of our country, clearly, we need a citizenship act that recognizes the modernity of our times and does not discriminate against people born out of wedlock.

Part of the problem now is we have religious marriages that were performed in Mexico, and this relates to offspring of Mennonites who have derivative citizenship rights. If those people had religious marriages but failed to have civil marriages, then their offspring are considered to be born out of wedlock and have no rights. Now—

Mr. Ed Komarnicki (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, certainly there is no question that when it comes to honouring our Canadian veterans no one stands behind them more than we do. If there is anything that we would not be proud of it is playing politics with a situation that is very personal to many individuals and to those who are affected with respect to their citizenship.

I can say that this government is taking action to address this important issue. A number of cases have been raised before the committee and a number of cases have been resolved. In certain cases the minister has used her discretionary authority to grant citizenship. She has waived the application fees in almost all of the cases. She has considered the cases on a case by case basis and has used her discretion wherever possible to ensure that a solution was found.

The minister has been practical and proactive. She has made this issue a priority. She and her department have dealt one by one with the cases that have come forward, giving them individual attention. I applaud the minister for those efforts.

On an ongoing basis, the clearest and most permanent way to address a situation such as this is through legislation, through regulation, and through the work of this House and the committee.

The minister announced today that she intends to table legislation in the fall that will resolve the issue of citizenship for most of those people whose status is currently in question while still maintaining the opportunity to resolve others on a case by case basis through the use of a discretionary grant of citizenship.

The minister has suggested that her proposed legislative approach will be based on four major elements. She has indicated that she will take input from the committee and is open to improvements.

First, nothing in the proposals will take away citizenship from anyone who is now a citizen of Canada.

Second, anyone born in Canada on or after January 1, 1947, the date of the first Citizenship Act, will have their citizenship confirmed even if they lost it under a provision of the 1947 legislation. The only exceptions would be those born in Canada to an accredited foreign diplomat or who have personally renounced their citizenship as adults.

Third, anyone naturalized in Canada on or after January 1, 1947, will have their citizenship confirmed even if they lost it under a provision of the 1947 act. The only exceptions would be those, as above, who renounced their citizenship, or, as adults, whose citizenship was revoked by the government because it was obtained by fraud.

Fourth, anyone born to a Canadian citizen abroad, mother or father, in or out of wedlock, on or after January 1, 1947, is a Canadian citizen and will have their citizenship confirmed if they are the first generation born abroad. The legacy of Canadian citizenship should not continue or be passed on through endless generations living abroad, so there will be that qualifier.

This a practical approach. Our government did not create the problem, but we are addressing it. We are addressing it in a practical way for the benefit of all Canadians.

Not only has the minister proceeded with the specific proposals that will be put forward, but she also has suggested that she is still open to further input, and she has indicated that she will use her discretion whenever it is necessary to ensure that individual cases that require attention and need a remedy will have that remedy.

Hon. Andrew Telegdi:

Mr. Speaker, I think the parliamentary secretary mentioned cases after 1947, but the reality is that we had about 60,000 people come into this country as war brides or children of war brides. Those people do not qualify and it does not make any sense why they do not.

We had children of war brides in front of us who are now in their mid-sixties and they get no relief with this legislation. This is clearly wrong.

It also is clearly wrong for the Conservative government to be discriminating against Mennonite marriages. For the sheer fact that they did not have civil weddings, their offspring are considered to be born out of wedlock. Clearly this is wrong.

The previous government had committed to change the Citizenship Act and had $20 million in the budget to do it. We had three reports from committee that we all agreed on, but this Conservative government came in and cancelled the money for a new Citizenship Act. It is time to correct that injustice.

Mr. Ed Komarnicki:

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member did not hear me speak, but I indicated that one of the proposed pieces of legislation, and it is not legislation yet, will not differentiate between those born in or out of wedlock. If they fall into those categories they would be treated similarly, not discriminated against.

Certainly we also can say in regard to the member's reference to what the previous government may or may not have done that we know it had been in office for two terms, and it did not address this problem in any single particular way, although it had ample opportunity.

This government has allocated significant funds in many areas, including an overall increase in the budget for citizenship and immigration to deal with problems. Specifically, the minister has indicated that this problem will be addressed. It will be dealt with. There will be practical solutions that will resolve what has existed for a significant number of years without any attention whatsoever being paid to it.

We will get the job done. It will take some effort. We understand that. We will address all of the cases that fall into this anomalous situation and that require attention by this government.