Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Wentworth—Burlington. I take this opportunity to congratulate the hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for proposing a much needed update of the Citizenship of Canada Act.
The minister has put forward a series of initiatives to update citizenship and immigration legislation and procedures. These efforts represent a very welcome change in some Canadian institutions that will play a key role in our country's future.
Our existing citizenship act was well suited to the time when it was last revised in 1977. However, with all the changes we have seen over the past couple of decades and with the wide array of interpretations the term resident has been subjected to, it is time to revise our legislation to reflect today's social, political and economic realities.
It is also important that we include changes to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship. As an immigrant to Canada I have a keen sense of this great value as do my family and millions of other Canadians who are grateful for the chance they have been given to become citizens of this country.
The new act is a step in the right direction for all of us since it helps to promote the great value of Canadian citizenship. That is important for those of us who already possess this valuable asset. It is just as important for those who want to become Canadian citizens.
As we all know we owe a lot of our global prominence to new Canadians, their hard work and their contacts. An increasingly global outlook is one of the keys to Canada's future as are new Canadians and their initiatives and the new Citizenship of Canada Act.
I will reflect with my fellow members of parliament on the history of Canadian citizenship, which is about people coming from all corners of the planet to build a country characterized by tolerance, generosity and compassion, a country that represents a beacon of hope in an often troubled world torn by strife, wars and intolerance. Citizenship is about people and nation building. Its evolution represents the very essence of our collective identity as a people.
Nation as a concept relies in large measure on citizenship and the evolution of citizenship represents the very essence of our collective identity as a people.
As many of us will remember, the creation of Canadian citizenship was an initiative of Paul Martin Senior who served at the time as Canadian secretary of state. At the end of World War II, as Mr. Martin walked among the graves of soldiers in Dieppe, France, he recognized the names of several soldiers from his hometown. He was struck by the fact that despite the different ethnic origins of their names they were all Canadians. He decided it was high time to work toward recognition for Canadian citizenship.
The Citizenship Act of 1947 marked the beginning of a new era in our history. To emphasize its importance Prime Minister Mackenzie King was the recipient of the first certificate of Canadian citizenship. After World War II Canada experienced an unprecedented increase in its population. As the population of our country grew and changed and our Canadian identity gained in stature worldwide, the concept of citizenship evolved leading parliament to review the original Canadian Citizenship Act. A revised act came into effect in 1977.
More than 21 years have passed since the last major amendments were made. Over that time Canada has changed. The world has changed. It is important and necessary for our legislation to reflect those changes and strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship.
I point to the features of the new act that contribute to strengthening the value of our citizenship. New criteria for attribution of citizenship are certainly a big step in that direction. By proposing clearly defined precise requirements we can now rely on a more effective decision making process. These criteria guarantee that new Canadian citizens will be deeply committed to our country and its values.
In the case of children born to Canadian parents who no longer reside in this country, the transitional citizenship is limited to the second generation. This means that the second generation of Canadians born abroad will obtain citizenship at birth but lose it at the age of 28 unless they live in Canada before that time. The residency requirement is three years of physical presence within a five year period. Successive generations of Canadians born abroad cannot obtain Canadian citizenships unless they meet the same requirements as any other participant.
These new requirements have been established because we strongly believe that to preserve the value of Canadian citizenship we must ensure that all people who are Canadian citizens develop and maintain real links with Canada.
It is also with this in mind that we have introduced important changes in the requirements for permanent residence. Under the new act applicants for Canadian citizenship have to prove that they have spent three years out of five years in the country. This requirement is a good way to ensure applicants are well acquainted with Canadian society, our lifestyle and our values. By meeting the requirements these future Canadians will demonstrate their commitment to participate fully in the life of our society.
At the same time, as the minister pointed out, the new act also introduces a more flexible framework for application of these conditions by giving them five years instead of four to go through this requirement. Furthermore, applicants will be expected to have sufficient knowledge of one of the country's two official languages. They will have to be familiar with values of Canadian society and demonstrate that familiarity without the help of an interpreter. With these well defined criteria the decision making process will be simple, clear and effective.
Currently over 90% of citizenship applications are straightforward. Each application must nonetheless be approved by a citizenship judge. This process is long and costly. With the new act decisions will be based on criteria already set out in law and will therefore be more expeditious.
Another way to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship is to promote it actively. With a more effective decision making process in place our citizenship judges will now be called citizenship commissioners and will have more time to promote the values symbolized by citizenship across the country. Not only will they continue to be ambassadors of citizenship within the context of citizenship ceremonies, but they will extend that role to other community events in order to reach more people and make Canadian citizens more aware of the responsibilities and advantages of being Canadian.
The appointment criteria for citizenship commissioners are defined in the new act. We believe they will foster consistency and ensure the commissioners are outstanding citizens with solid track records. Our new commissioners will be Canadians who have been publicly recognized for their important contribution to civic life and have demonstrated their attachment to the values embodied in Canadian citizenship.
The new act also includes measures to enhance the protection of Canadian citizenship. The vast majority of applicants for citizenship are law-abiding individuals who contribute greatly to our country, to daily life and to the growth of Canada. In the pursuit of our objective to be properly prepared to face the occasional difficulty we have added new measures.
The proposed act sets out a new prohibition. This includes the power to refuse citizenship in the public interest. The proposed act also gives the minister new authority to cancel citizenship in cases where it was obtained by using a false identity while the individual was not entitled to citizenship due to a criminal offence. It has more severe sanctions for offences.
As the minister mentioned, we are also proposing to revise our oath of citizenship. Like the other modifications we are suggesting that this proposal evolve from extensive consultations.
Canadians say they want our oath to reflect our contemporary values. They also want clearer references to loyalty to Canada. Our existing oath has not been updated since it was first introduced over a half century ago. The oath clearly states our allegiance to Canada and its values as well as our allegiance to the head of state. The words express a strong commitment to these values. I would also like to remind all my colleagues that the citizenship act is the result of extensive efforts initiated by the minister to respond to Canadians and their concerns.
The act is the result of a lengthy consultation to modernize one of our most valuable assets, our Canadian citizenship, with full respect for our Canadian identity, values and traditions.
As can be appreciated, the changes proposed in the new act are designed to strengthen this most valuable asset, Canadian citizenship. Therefore I ask all members of the House to support the new citizenship act.