Thank you, Chairman.
It's nice to have the privilege to come and tell my story.
I was born in Mexico in February of 1980. My parents moved to Manitoba when I was six months old. They applied for citizenship for me, and I received it on November 6, 1980. I grew up in Canada. I went to school here. I joined the workforce when I was 16 years old, and became a truck driver. It was always my dream to become a truck driver.
Then I heard that I was in the category to renew my citizenship before I was 28, so I did that. I sent in the application late in 2002. One year later, I received a letter stating that I had never been a Canadian and I could not retain my citizenship because my grandfather was born out of wedlock.
That was shocking for me. I've always been in Canada. For over 20 years I've been here. I got married here. I have two Canadian-born kids here....
Excuse me.