Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On April 8, we heard from Justice for Children and Youth. They submitted a briefing to the standing committee in which they said:
We are regularly involved with young people who are new-comers, including refugees, who have either arrived in Canada as unaccompanied minors, or who have experienced family breakdown such that they are in Canada without adult support and are without citizenship or permanent resident status.
This amendment is in response to this particular comment, as well as to those we heard throughout the committee hearings. The rationale behind this is that normally a minor's application for citizenship is attached to that of the parent or guardian. The current provisions restrict access to citizenship for unaccompanied minors, children without parents or lawful guardians, and children with parents who do not have the capacity to meet citizenship requirements or who do not wish to apply.
Often the department doesn't recognize child welfare authorities as the lawful guardian of a child for the purposes of citizenship application, which means children fleeing situations of abuse are also unable to apply for citizenship. Children who do not have a parent or guardian are already in a vulnerable position, and the current provisions in the law restrict minors from applying solely on the basis of age, regardless of whether they meet all other requirements.
I think this will rectify some of the comments we heard during testimony on this bill and will have an overall net positive effect on Canada's immigration system.