This would have me worried as a Canadian citizen.
Canadians Taking Away Dual Citizenship?
The Conservative government has ordered a review of current rules that allow Canadians to enjoy dual citizenship.
Under the original Canadian Citizenship Act, enacted in 1947, anyone who became a citizen of another country automatically ceased to be a Canadian citizen. At that time, such individuals were allowed to remain dual citizens if the foreign country continued to recognize their citizenship after they became Canadians. When the law was replaced by the Citizenship Act in 1977, the automatic ban on dual citizens was removed.
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Steven Harper ordered a review of Canada's dual citizenship policy after the evacuation of nearly 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon during last summer's conflict with Israel. The evacuation, which cost Canadian taxpayers nearly US$100 million, raised questions about the rights and obligations of those in Canada who hold multiple passports.
The government does know exactly how many dual citizens there are. A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman referred the question to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which deferred to Statistics Canada. According to the 2001 census, there were 556,910 immigrants living in Canada who were citizens of at least one other country, but Statistics Canada does not track the number of Canadian citizens living abroad.
If Canada changes the law and ends the right to dual citizenship, Canada will be going against a global trend with many nations now allowing dual citizenship and holding of second passports (including the U.S.).
Canadians Taking Away Dual Citizenship?
The Conservative government has ordered a review of current rules that allow Canadians to enjoy dual citizenship.
Under the original Canadian Citizenship Act, enacted in 1947, anyone who became a citizen of another country automatically ceased to be a Canadian citizen. At that time, such individuals were allowed to remain dual citizens if the foreign country continued to recognize their citizenship after they became Canadians. When the law was replaced by the Citizenship Act in 1977, the automatic ban on dual citizens was removed.
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Steven Harper ordered a review of Canada's dual citizenship policy after the evacuation of nearly 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon during last summer's conflict with Israel. The evacuation, which cost Canadian taxpayers nearly US$100 million, raised questions about the rights and obligations of those in Canada who hold multiple passports.
The government does know exactly how many dual citizens there are. A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman referred the question to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which deferred to Statistics Canada. According to the 2001 census, there were 556,910 immigrants living in Canada who were citizens of at least one other country, but Statistics Canada does not track the number of Canadian citizens living abroad.
If Canada changes the law and ends the right to dual citizenship, Canada will be going against a global trend with many nations now allowing dual citizenship and holding of second passports (including the U.S.).
No comments:
Post a Comment