Just to return to the grant versus right of citizenship, because again, officials have said they've gone through the testimony on Bill S-230. I'm just wondering why it has taken two years to get to the point where a problem was identified with the drafting.
Mr. Attfield, who was the director general, was asked questions by Senator Ataullahjan on the grant of citizenship, and Mr. Attfield responded:
It’s worth noting that the discretionary grant of citizenship also then allows that individual’s child to also pass on citizenship. The grant of citizenship allows that person to extend their citizenship so that basically the first generation limit will not apply to their child as a result. It resets the person’s generational clock for passing on citizenship if that person has a child born abroad.
That was Mr. Attfield's understanding of Bill S-230, and now there's a problem with Bill S-230's drafting. Is this your understanding? This is the crux of the problem, that some people will be treated differently because of the way they have obtained citizenship. He talks here about resetting a “person's generational clock”—I'm not sure if this is the right terminology, but that's what's here—“for passing on citizenship if that person has a child born abroad.”
We've talked about the difference between “right” and “grant”, and that's the crux of the problem with this section. I seem to remember understanding Mr. Attfield's saying that's the way they want it to work here.
If I'm misunderstanding it, then please correct me.