Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question. We had a similar provision for the legislative amendments implemented in 2009 to remedy lost Canadians, as well as the overhaul of citizenship legislation done in 2014-15. Without a provision like this, when Parliament finally pas

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The department has fairly significant experience in undertaking the implementation preparations that are required for a legislative initiative such as this one. I can say, in my last 15 years of loyally implementing a number of legislative changes, we've always managed to do it w

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's possible, but that remains to be seen.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's right.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Speaking for the officials here today, we are not sure that there would be much of a difference between this wording and the existing provisions in terms of future citizenship ceremonies. On the other hand, as I said earlier, it does not reflect the regulatory proposal with resp

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Madam Chair, could the member repeat his question?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm going to clarify the regulatory proposal. In addition to allowing people to decide whether to take part in a ceremony in person or virtually, as is currently the case, the proposal is to allow those applying for citizenship to select an option that would allow them to take th

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's right.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's right.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm convinced that this would be an unintended outcome of the proposed amendment, even though I think it was well-intentioned. Practically speaking, however, implementing this amendment would have the effect that was just described.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can't comment on a theoretical scenario with respect to Quebec, but I can confirm two things. First of all, based on the amendments to the bill that have already been adopted by the committee with respect to Canadian children born abroad, meaning outside of Canada, the second

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Madam Chair, as has been mentioned, flexibility is needed in the system to accommodate a variety of circumstances, but the larger point I've been seeking to make through my comments about design and how the program is delivered is that “one size fits all” equality is not equity.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Briefly, practically speaking, it would take away some of the flexibility the department currently has to combine, as it usually does, the personal and virtual ceremonies. The virtual ceremonies would really be limited to those specified in the requested exception on humanitarian

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm not aware of any such complaints. There may have been some, but I haven't heard about them. In view of my responsibilities, I'd like to believe that if such a complaint were made, I would have known about it and received information about it.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  If a virtual ceremony has been scheduled for applicants, and they are emphatic about wanting an in‑person ceremony, I believe we do everything possible to accommodate them.