Bill C-6 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act

This enactment amends the Citizenship Act to, among other things,
(a) remove the grounds for the revocation of Canadian citizenship that relate to national security;
(b) remove the requirement that an applicant intend, if granted citizenship, to continue to reside in Canada;
(c) reduce the number of days during which a person must have been physically present in Canada before applying for citizenship and provide that, in the calculation of the length of physical presence, the number of days during which the person was physically present in Canada before becoming a permanent resident may be taken into account;
(d) limit the requirement to demonstrate knowledge of Canada and of one of its official languages to applicants between the ages of 18 and 54;
(e) authorize the Minister to seize any document that he or she has reasonable grounds to believe was fraudulently or improperly obtained or used or could be fraudulently or improperly used;
(f) change the process for the revocation of Canadian citizenship on the grounds of false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances; and
(g) remove the requirement that an applicant be 18 years of age or over for citizenship to be granted under subsection 5(1) of that Act.
It also makes consequential amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Citizenship Act

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I do not mind raising this issue once again, about the importance of providing opportunities for international students who come to our communities to continue to help build these communities for years to come. Once again, I have many international students who arrive in the community of Fredericton who get involved on campus, get involved in the larger community, and can contribute so much to our entrepreneurial ecosystem in Fredericton and across New Brunswick.

I would ask my colleague to comment on what potential he sees through our re-instituting the part-time credit available to international students, as we help build a diverse and prosperous country.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Fredericton is right on, and I noticed that he has been a very strong advocate on that particular issue. I appreciate the comments and the question.

He is quite right. When we look at the value that is brought to Canada through international students, we only need to look at virtually any campus in Canada and we will see first-hand everything from providing the cost of facilities or adding revenue to the facilities to supporting the academic excellence that we see in many of the post-secondary facilities across this land. Many of our post-secondary facilities need international students to be able to maintain the type of quality programming that is currently in place. We are very dependent on international students.

Instead of being in fear, we should be looking at ways that we can reward. This particular bill actually would reward those international students by saying that, if they come to Canada, study, and ultimately land in Canada, we are going to count some of those years they spend in universities as part of their time so that they would be able to qualify for their citizenship that much earlier. I see that as good news, and I truly appreciate the question.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am a little disappointed to hear the hon. member make a defence of differential fees and say that the Canadian education system depends, for its funding, on extremely high differential fees as a proxy for not having enough funding from government, but that is for another day.

The question I would like to ask is this. A related issue that the former Conservative government dealt with was that it took away the right to vote in federal elections from Canadian citizens who have been out of the country for more than five years. We had people like actors and people working around the world who complained publicly that they could not vote because of that.

Will the member's government bring in legislation that would restore the ability for Canadian citizens to vote in Canadian elections, even if they have been out of the country for more than five years but they retain their Canadian citizenship? That is people like Donald Sutherland.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that was the Fair Elections Act, which the previous government brought in.

We have a very ambitious electoral reform package, and we have a very competent and articulate minister who is open for ideas and thoughts. I would suggest, for the member, that he might want to share his concerns, as other members have done, in regard to the Elections Canada Act. I can assure the member that the minister is approaching it with an exceptionally open mind, looking for good ideas to make sure we have a democracy that is improved from the way it was when the previous government made changes that deprived some people of the opportunity to vote.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we resume, I just want to take a second here to say that normally members hear from the Speaker when there is something bad happening or something not going on, but I just want to compliment the members who were here this afternoon. It was very respectful, and the tone was very nice from up here, and so I thank all of you.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon in opposition to Bill C-6, an act to amend the Citizenship Act.

Let me say at the outset that Canada is a country built upon immigrants. People come from all corners of the world, people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths, and creeds. People come here to build a better life for themselves and their families, and as a result of their contribution, they help shape and build a better Canada each and every day.

Hundreds of thousands of new Canadians are welcomed into the Canadian family each and every year. Indeed, as a result of important reforms to Canada's immigration system brought forward by the previous Conservative government, a more than 70-year record number of new Canadians were welcomed into the Canadian family. I would say that is a record of which all Canadians can be proud.

Each time an immigrant is welcomed into the Canadian family as a Canadian citizen, we are all enriched by the ever-increasing diversity of Canada. It is precisely because of that, that I stand vigorously in opposition to Bill C-6.

Bill C-6 would do absolutely nothing to help the hundreds of thousands of good people who are waiting in the immigration line to build a new and better life in Canada. Rather, Bill C-6 would primarily help one individual, and that individual's name is Zakaria Amara.

Zakaria Amara is the ring leader of the Toronto 18. Yes, it is that Zakaria Amara. He is someone who built detonators, acquired explosives to build truck bombs to blow up downtown Toronto, and was responsible for a plot that the trial judge characterized as “spine chilling”. What is more, the trial judge determined that, but for the fact that Amara was stopped in his tracks, this plot would have resulted in loss of life on a scale never before seen in Canada, if it had been carried out.

Amara's citizenship was rightly revoked under the previous Conservative government, and now, if Bill C-6 were passed, Amara's citizenship would be reinstated. Effectively, Bill C-6 would put Amara at the front of the immigration line, ahead of the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding people who want to join the Canadian family.

I agree with the hon. members opposite when they say that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. I would add that a law-abiding Canadian is a law-abiding Canadian is a law-abiding Canadian. Also, a terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist.

However, Bill C-6 would do nothing to create equality or treat newcomers equally. I can see that the government's bill may be well intentioned, but what Bill C-6 would effectively do is give dual citizens convicted of terrorist offences preferred status over other dual citizens.

What happens to dual citizens who conceal their criminal record? The answer is that their citizenship may be revoked, and the government supports that.

What happens to dual citizens who enter Canada on fraudulent pretenses? The answer is that their citizenship may be revoked, and this government supports that.

However, what happens to dual citizens who are convicted of terrorist offences? If Bill C-6 were passed, they would be able to keep their Canadian citizenship.

How can that be? How is that fair? How is that just? How is that fair to, frankly, multi-generation Canadians, to first-generation Canadians, to new Canadians, or to any Canadian?

It is not fair. It is fundamentally unjust, particularly to dual-citizenship Canadians. Not only is it fundamentally unjust to dual-citizenship Canadians, but it is out of step with literally every other country in the western world. Almost all countries in the western world have laws on their books that take away the citizenship of those who perpetrate terrorist acts.

It is out of step with literally every democracy in the western world, because Bill C-6 is inconsistent with the principles that underlie citizenship; namely, reciprocity. Canada is loyal to the citizen; the citizen is loyal to Canada.

Let me just say that I hope the government takes a step back and reconsiders this ill-advised piece of legislation. Rather than moving forward with this legislation, I would encourage it to work with us, work with all parties, work with all Canadians to find ways to help streamline the immigration process; to find ways to give immigrants the tools they need so that they can prosper here in Canada; and to, frankly, work to help every new Canadian enjoy the Canadian dream by creating conditions for long-term growth and prosperity, instead of the reckless tax-and-spend schemes it has brought forward over the last six months, which are slowing economic growth, including that of new Canadians, making us all poorer, and burdening future generations of Canadians with mountains of debt, including future generations of new Canadians.

In closing, let me say that a bill that would put terrorists ahead of dual-citizenship Canadians, a bill that would be inconsistent with long-standing principles respecting citizenship, a bill that would put one of the worst terrorists, Zakaria Amara, at the front of the immigration line, is a bill that must be defeated.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. I also want to thank him for what he said in his introduction about welcoming immigrants. He also supports welcoming immigrants, so that fits in with what our party is advocating.

However, a leopard does not change its spots. My colleague is trying to frighten Canadians by talking about terrorism and other such things.

He also mentioned that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. Can he please explain how he can say that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian and, in the same breath, that he is favour of dual citizenship?

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when people commit terrorist acts, when people seek to kill other Canadians, when people seek to destroy the institutions that bind us as Canadians, those individuals, as a matter of fact, renounce their citizenship.

What the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act did was merely affirm that fact.

What Bill C-6 does is seek to revoke the renunciation and reinstate it solely to the benefit of terrorists. We think that is fundamentally wrong, and it is why we do not support Bill C-6.

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion with which my colleague speaks. It adds greatly to this debate.

My colleague has been vigorously defending Bill C-24, and I get a sense from the questions and the speeches that perhaps it did not go far enough for him.

Can he envision a bill that is stronger than Bill C-24 that he would perhaps like to see replace Bill C-6?

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-6 falls short in just about every way imaginable.

Take, for example, the fact that under the Strengthening of Canadian Citizenship Act, we recognized that new Canadian applicants in an increasingly globalized world needed flexibility. In terms of the period of time that applicants were required to remain in Canada, the Strengthening of Canadian Citizenship Act gave them one third of the time that they could be outside of Canada. The Liberals now want to take away that flexibility, by reducing that to only 25% of the time that applicants can be outside of Canada.

This legislation would be bad for new Canadians. The only beneficiaries of it would be terrorists.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite mentioned in his speech that this legislation would do nothing to help the long line of immigrants waiting to become citizens. Bill C-6 proposes to reduce the number of days needed for international students by reinstating 50% of their time here credit. It would also reduce the time that they are in Canada, from four out of six years to three out of five years in order to apply as citizens.

Would my friend agree that these measures would help those who want to become citizens and reduce the waiting time?

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there are some positive aspects of Bill C-6. I will admit that not all aspects of the bill are bad. We need to look at the changes carefully.

Unfortunately, there are too many provisions in Bill C-6 that are problematic, so barring the legislation being drastically amended, I and my colleagues in the Conservative Party cannot support it.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today in support of Bill C-6. The bill will restore the fundamental principle of equality of citizenship, and also restore common sense to the process of becoming a Canadian citizen.

There are few privileges on earth greater than being a citizen of Canada. In our country, we cherish our freedom, our democracy, and our inalienable rights that attach to our citizenship. Canada has long been a beacon of hope and opportunity to many around the world. Our country is blessed to have been enriched by people who have become Canadians by choice.

In my riding of West Nova, we have an incredible history which started the foundation of the country, with rich contributions from Acadian, Mi’kmaq, Métis, British, and African Canadians. Also, we know that through many generations at Pier 21 in Halifax, many more immigrants began their lives as Canadians and together helped build this great country.

The most fundamental principle of the rule of law is that all citizens are equal before the law. We cannot have two classes of Canadians. Once someone is a citizen of our country, certain rights and privileges attach to that. They cannot be taken away. Bill C-6 restores the fundamental principle of our system of citizenship. It rightly seeks to reinstate this principle, which was taken away under the Conservatives' Bill C-24 in the last Parliament.

I have heard all kinds of claims by the opposition members in the debate so far on Bill C-6. However, the most intellectually frustrating argument I have heard is their claim that Bill C-6 leaves in the law the ability for revocation of citizenship in some cases. Therefore, the argument we are making on this side of the House, that it is fundamental that we cannot revoke citizenship, is somehow inconsistent with leaving that provision in the law. I have heard this from the other side. The argument has been made that Bill C-6 in fact creates two tiers of citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the opposite is true. The bill remedies the fact that in Bill C-24 there are two classes of citizenship.

Does the opposition not see the obvious difference between taking away citizenship from someone who never would have or should have obtained citizenship but for fraud or misrepresentation, and revoking the citizenship of an otherwise valid citizen for egregious behaviour done after they have been conferred with all rights and privileges that come with citizenship? To my mind, there is a clear distinction between something being void ab initio, that meaning from the beginning. They were never citizens. That is the difference between something void ab initio and something voidable in the future for future behaviour.

Furthermore, do they not see that maintaining the integrity of our citizenship application process requires a mechanism to prevent those who would lie in order to become a citizen? What kind of system is reliable if there is no mechanism to withdraw from it people who have lied, committed fraud, or misrepresented the statements made in order to obtain the thing conferred upon them? Of course, to have a proper system of citizenship requires a mechanism for those people who have misrepresented themselves to the government to obtain the citizenship to take that away.

That is vastly different from saying that someone should have their citizenship revoked for something done after they have become a citizen. There is no causal link. There is nothing between their bad behaviour afterwards and their citizenship. Therefore, it is fundamentally wrong to suggest that because there are provisions that remain in the law to revoke citizenship for someone who should never and would never have been conferred citizenship, versus someone revoking their citizenship for egregious behaviour after the fact, that the law is flawed

Let me be clear about this. There is no question that the behaviour associated with revoking citizenship in Bill C-24 is egregious behaviour. It is intolerable. It is criminal. It is repugnant. That is exactly why the criminal law in this country, to the fullest extent, should make sure that those people go to jail. That is where they belong. It should not be used as a punishment to revoke their citizenship because it does in fact create two tiers of citizens. It creates citizens who have dual citizenship who could be subjected to having their citizenship revoked on future behaviour, versus those who are Canadian and only Canadian citizens.

There is a big fundamental difference. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. I know that line has been used on both sides of the House, but it is true. It is true that if we go down the road of having more than one class of citizenship, it will render less valuable the fact that someone is a Canadian citizen.

Being a dual citizen means that an individual is a Canadian citizen. However, a Canadian citizen is the same, whether or not they have more than one passport.

I submit that most Canadians understand this obvious difference. It is unfortunate that it is being advanced as a proper argument to maintain these elements from the previous Bill C-24. I note that these elements were part of the election campaign, and Canadians rejected those ideas in the last election.

Bill C-6 also reduces the length of time that someone must be physically present in Canada to qualify for citizenship. This would help immigrants achieve citizenship more quickly and change the requirements to three years within five years total. It will mean that applicants can apply one year sooner in order to join the citizenship of this country. This offers greater flexibility for immigrants who travel outside of Canada but maintain the timelines. It does ensure that a new Canadian has significant ties and links with our country to be a full and proud Canadian.

Another element of Bill C-6 that I find very good is the part of the bill that restores the 50% credit, for international students in particular, who spend time at one of our amazing schools in this country. It does not make any sense to take away the credit for those individuals whom we hope to attract, for whom we are competing with other countries around the world to have them live in Canada, to participate in our country. It does not make any sense at all to make it harder for them. We are competing with other countries around the world to attract the best and brightest, and we must do what we can to ensure that they stay here.

They have links with Canada. They obviously have a linguistic connection, either English or French, or perhaps both, in order to attend one of our universities or post-secondary schools. Therefore, it makes sense with those links, those connections, their intelligence and innovation, that we should be attracting and doing everything we can to encourage these students to become part of the Canadian family.

We know that Bill C-6 also amends the age range for the language requirement. Bill C-6 proposes to amend the age range for those required to meet language and knowledge requirements from 14 to 64, to those aged 18 to 54, removing a potential barrier to citizenship for applicants in both the younger and older age groups.

All Canadians are free to move outside of Canada, of course, and this is a right guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many Canadians enjoy that privilege and maintain their strong ties and connections and pride in Canada. It is right and correct that Bill C-6 repeals the June 2015 change that required adult applicants to declare that they intend to continue to reside in Canada. This is a prime example of previous modifications to our law that treat certain citizens differently.

Bill C-6 attempts to remedy changes that were made that are against the rule of law, against the best traditions of this country, and that is why I will proudly support Bill C-6.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my hon. colleague's statements. I have been in the House most of the day and have listened to the debate over the last several days. He talked specifically about intellectual arguments on why this bill is not being supported on this side.

I would suggest that we are talking about a very narrow band as it relates to the revocation of citizenship. Since Confederation, there have been eight cases, and just six since World War II. There are 52 countries that recognize how important this issue is, and those 52 countries actually revoke citizenship for circumstances similar to this.

I would like to hear an intellectual argument from the other side as to why Liberals are proposing that those who commit terrorist acts, acts of treason, and espionage in this country should not lose their citizenship when those in 52 other countries around the world do.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear that this is a matter of principle. This is a matter that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, and having a system whereby there are different types of Canadians is an affront to what we hold dear as Canadian values.

I note my friend referenced 52 countries around the world. One that he will not find on that list is the United States of America. That country has a law and a body of jurisprudence similar to what we have in our country when it comes to citizenship, and it is in the best traditions of both the United States and Canada that we stand proudly when we say that there is one type of citizenship. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, and I reject entirely the premise that because another country has it in its laws, so should we.