Bill C-71

An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024)

Sponsor

Status

Second reading (House), as of Dec. 12, 2024

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Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

This enactment amends the Citizenship Act to, among other things,
(a) ensure that citizenship by descent is conferred on all persons who were born outside Canada before the coming into force of this enactment to a parent who was a citizen;
(b) confer citizenship by descent on persons born outside Canada after the first generation, on or after the coming into force of this enactment, to a parent who is a citizen and who had a substantial connection to Canada before the person’s birth;
(c) allow citizenship to be granted under section 5.1 of that Act to all persons born outside Canada who were adopted before the coming into force of this enactment by a parent who was a citizen;
(d) allow citizenship to be granted under section 5.1 of that Act to persons born outside Canada who are adopted on or after the coming into force of this enactment by a parent who is a citizen and who had a substantial connection to Canada before the person’s adoption;
(e) restore citizenship to persons who lost their citizenship because they did not make an application to retain it under the former section 8 of that Act or because they made an application under that section that was not approved; and
(f) allow certain persons who become citizens as a result of the coming into force of this enactment to access a simplified process to renounce their citizenship.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-71s:

C-71 (2018) Law An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms

C-71 (2015) Victims Rights in the Military Justice System Act

C-71 (2005) Law First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act

Debate Summary

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-71 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act to address issues raised by the Ontario Superior Court regarding the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent. The bill would grant citizenship to individuals born abroad to a Canadian parent who meets a "substantial connection" requirement, defined as residing in Canada for at least three cumulative years. It also aims to restore citizenship to "lost Canadians" affected by previous legislative provisions and streamline the process for adopted children born abroad to gain citizenship.

Liberal

Supports Citizenship Act amendments: The Liberal party supports Bill C-71, which amends the Citizenship Act to provide a clearer framework for citizenship by descent. The bill aims to restore and grant citizenship to lost Canadians, addressing issues raised in Parliament and the courts.
Correcting Conservative errors: The bill seeks to rectify the harmful first-generation limit introduced by the Harper Conservatives, which the Ontario Superior Court deemed unconstitutional. By removing this limit, the bill allows Canadian citizens born abroad to pass on their citizenship to their children, provided they demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada, which is defined as living in Canada for a cumulative total of three years before the child's birth.
Promoting inclusivity and fairness: Bill C-71 aims to create a more inclusive and fair Citizenship Act by restoring citizenship to those wrongly excluded and establishing consistent rules for citizenship by descent. This includes addressing the status of descendants impacted by the first-generation limit and reducing differences between children born abroad and adopted by Canadians and those born abroad to Canadian parents.
Addressing historical inequalities: The bill addresses historical inequalities, such as those affecting women's ability to confer citizenship before 1977. It acknowledges the rights of second-generation Canadians born abroad to obtain citizenship, including descendants of women who were previously unable to confer citizenship due to these inequalities.

Conservative

Opposes Bill C-71: The Conservative party opposes Bill C-71 because they believe it weakens the requirements for Canadian citizenship. They argue that the bill devalues citizenship, fails to ensure proper vetting, and does not address the existing backlog in the immigration system.
Substantive connection concerns: The Conservatives disagree with the substantial connection test proposed in Bill C-71. They believe that 1,095 non-consecutive days in Canada is not a strong enough connection and proposed making the days consecutive. They also want to ensure a police record check is required.
Incompetence in immigration: The Conservatives are highly critical of the Liberal government's handling of the immigration system, citing significant backlogs, errors in application processing, and a failure to conduct proper security checks. They believe the government's incompetence is a major reason for opposing Bill C-71.
Canadians of convenience: The Conservatives express concern about creating "Canadians of convenience," individuals who hold Canadian citizenship but have minimal ties to the country. They argue that citizenship should be a serious commitment and that the bill weakens this commitment.

NDP

Supports the bill: The NDP supports Bill C-71, which aims to restore the constitutional rights of Canadians stripped by the Conservatives' Bill C-37 fifteen years ago.
Correcting Conservative errors: Bill C-37, while intended to fix issues with lost Canadians, inadvertently created a new class of lost Canadians by preventing first-generation Canadians born abroad from passing on their citizenship. This bill seeks to correct that.
Worked to get bill introduced: The NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship lobbied successive Liberal ministers to address the lost Canadians issue. After the Conservatives stalled Senator Martin's bill, the NDP approached the Minister of Immigration to bring forward a government bill.
Need for substantial connection: The NDP supports a substantial connections test, requiring parents born abroad to have resided in Canada for at least 1,095 days. Amendments put through in committee on Bill S-245 called for this test to extend to subsequent generations.

Bloc

Supports Bill C-71: The Bloc Québécois supports Bill C-71, as they believe it rectifies historical injustices related to Canadian citizenship. The bill aligns with their vision of citizenship, which emphasizes that once granted, it should not be taken away, except for national security reasons.
Correcting past oversights: The bill seeks to address the situation of "lost Canadians" affected by complex provisions in the Citizenship Act, particularly those who lost their citizenship due to requirements to apply for retention. It also responds to a court decision that found the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent unconstitutional.
Fairness and equality: Bloc members emphasize the importance of fairness and equality in citizenship laws, advocating for the recognition and protection of citizenship rights regardless of place of birth or residence. They also express concern over how past legislation has disproportionately affected women.
Hope for Quebec citizenship: Members note that easing Canadian citizenship requirements will help more people become citizens of an independent Quebec. They point out that the bill will give more Quebec citizens when Quebec becomes sovereign.

Was this summary helpful and accurate?

Citizenship ActGovernment Orders

September 17th, 2024 / 6:10 p.m.

Conservative

Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Speaker, I cannot answer questions on behalf of their legislative agenda, because I have failed to understand it from the very beginning. The questions that we have asked, though, are real questions that would lead us to making better decisions about laws in this country.

As a baseline, I think Canadians at home watching this right now would want to know exactly how many people this bill would affect. The Liberals do not have a good record on our immigration system. They do not have a good record on security checks, certainly not with what has been found out in the last couple of weeks. I think Canadians ought to know those answers before they blindly support legislation.

Citizenship ActGovernment Orders

September 17th, 2024 / 6:15 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to start this short speech by taking a look at some important events that took place yesterday and by congratulating my new colleague, Leila Dance, who won in Winnipeg and held on to a seat for the NDP. She showed that we are capable of beating the Conservatives. I would congratulate Mr. Sauvé as well, who won in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun. I would also like to talk about another Mr. Sauvé, Craig Sauvé, who was the NDP candidate. Unfortunately, he came in third in an extremely close race. I still want to congratulate him on his campaign and to congratulate the whole team of volunteers and activists who worked so hard on the ground.

That being said, today we are debating a very important subject, a bill that seeks to right a wrong. I apologize for the expression, but there are people who are falling through the cracks. This has very serious consequences because it means that they can lose their citizenship. Some may even lose their citizenship without even realizing it. This has a whole range of repercussions, including impacts on their ability to work, to get public services, to enrol their children in school, and so on.

I admit, I was surprised that it is possible to lose citizenship. Then there is the whole issue of being able to pass on citizenship to second-generation children born abroad to parents who are Canadian citizens. I think it is a very serious problem if our laws allow children to come into the world stateless. Let me remind the House that even the United Nations, in 2007, identified Canada as one of the countries that was refusing to take steps to avoid making people stateless. According to Refugee Listed Canada, we were operating slightly outside the law.

I think that this bill makes some important corrections. Loss of citizenship has major repercussions on people who work abroad and have to travel, as well as on their children. If we can all steer clear of petty politics, finger pointing and scare tactics, we could solve a problem affecting hundreds of people and avoid problems that throw the lives of many of the people we represent into turmoil.

I encourage everyone to make an effort so that we can pass this bill quickly and solve a problem that should have been fixed a long time ago, a problem created by the Conservatives when they were in power.