Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This amendment deals with the second generation “born abroad” issue as well. As I stated earlier on some of the concerns with respect to that, this aims to remedy the situation in which a person born outside of Canada was adopted by a parent, as referred to in paragraphs 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) of the act, and is either a citizen under prior legislation or the former act or was granted citizenship under paragraph 5(2)(a) of the act as it read before April 17, 2009. In that respect, as committee members may know, the amendments that were brought forward around April 17, 2009, abolished the provision for those born outside, prior to their turning 28, but those who turn 28 after that period are actually now in a state of statelessness or are, as some would call them, lost Canadians.
This is another way to address this for those born in the second generation by bringing forward a provision such that all these individuals are Canadians so that they're not lost in the system per se. There was actually a really good submission from the Lost Canadians, on two small categories in need of better remedies, that was presented to all committee members, which outlines the history of this, and the rationale of calling for this change so that we can prevent a situation in which people are somehow lost in the system.
I'd just like to also point out comments made by the Canadian Council for Refugees. They actually stated that there are no measures in Bill C-6 to address the unfair situations created by the 2009 amendments, and that by denying citizenship to the second generation born abroad, Canada is creating a new set of lost Canadians and making some children born to Canadians stateless. Avvy Go, in her presentation as a witness, gave a really clear example of why this is a problem. She said:
Yes, I think that's an area that needs to be improved.
For instance, I have relatives where the husband was born in Canada and the wife wasn't. They're both citizens. I was advising them to make sure, when the kids are born overseas, that it's the father who applies for their citizenship, because if they apply for citizenship under the mother, their children may not become Canadian citizens. I think that example highlights the unfairness of the situation. I would certainly recommend that this provision be amended.
This illustrates the flaws of the current act as it stands, and this amendment is proposed to remedy that, Mr. Chair. So to that end, I move my amendment NDP-7, reference number 8213690.