I would like to thank all the witnesses for coming today to tell us about their experiences.
Ms. Vermeersch, I think that you managed to quickly sum up the state in which people find themselves when they discover that they are not Canadian citizens or when they find themselves in a situation where they wonder if this is the case. In the past, people have had to fight to keep their citizenship which, in certain cases, has given rise to costs of approximately $50,000 to $60,000, and that is for legal fees only. We are not counting what it might have cost the government to try and solve the problem.
As members of the committee, we care deeply about this situation. I would like to personally thank you for having travelled so far to appear before the committee. I commend you for that. In fact, very few people do so.
Moreover, I have the opportunity to visit with many veterans. The Sainte-Anne-de- Bellevue veterans' hospital is in the riding next to mine, that is to say in Vaudreuil-Soulanges. There's also the Manoir Cavagnal and the Royal Canadian Legion in Hudson. These are groups and people that I see regularly. I became their friend because of the work I'm doing in the area of citizenship and immigration. I worked on the war brides issue. There are several in my riding.
I also had the opportunity to study the issue of the citizenship of these veterans' children. I'm very well aware of the problems we are discussing and I find the situation appalling, given your dedication and your efforts to protect Canada abroad.
I would also like to emphasize the presence of my colleague, Réal Ménard, who is the Justice critic for the Bloc Québécois. He was the critic for Citizenship and Immigration and worked on this bill in the past.
In our opinion, citizenship is a right. The problem affecting people in the 1947 to 1977 period is much more significant than some might think. In Quebec, there are economic repercussions. Several truck drivers have discovered these days that they can no longer travel to the United States. Not every business is in a position to offer routes that are limited to Canada alone. As a result, several people have lost their jobs in this industry.
There is also the case of the individual who discovered at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport that he no longer had his citizenship. He had to be escorted by security, whereas throughout his life he had simply believed that he was a Canadian citizen. I would like to be able to say that we are in a position to find a quick solution to these problems. I think that solutions have been proposed on an individual basis.
Ms. Francis was mentioning that there are several classes of citizens. I find that an appalling phenomenon. The fact that Judge Martineau's decision is being appealed makes no sense. I am proud to say that Judge Martineau comes from Quebec. He is probably sensitive to the issue.
In the Martineau decision, the issue of the continuum is important. The people who were here before 1947 were British subjects. When the act came into effect in 1947, they became Canadian citizens. In 1977, this aspect of the spirit of the law should have predominated. I think that at this point, we should modernize the act in order to find a solution to these problematic situations once and for all, because of the costs engendered, but also because of the absurdity that they represent quite simply. The continuum must prevail.
I don't know if you have any comments to add to that. For my part, I do not have any particular questions to ask.