Important update on equal citizenship
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- Published on Thursday, 22 September 2016 05:15
- Written by editor
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Our community won a huge victory earlier this year when the new government moved to restore citizenship equality through Bill C-6.
Once passed, the new law will erase the parts of Bill C-24 that allow citizenship revocation as a punishment for dual citizens, and ends the threat of losing your citizenship if you move away from Canada for work, family, or personal reasons. It will also provide greater flexibility and help obtain citizenship faster.
The government acknowledged that it would make this change now, rather than be forced to do so by our lawsuit. This would never have happened without your incredible support for our work on this issue.
But the fight isn’t over yet.
While repealing the revocation provisions was a great start, Bill C-24 created some other serious problems that the government has chosen not to fix in its new Bill.
Under the current law a person can still lose their citizenship if it is found that it was obtained by misrepresentation.
We don't object to the government having the power to deal with serious misrepresentations, but under Bill C-24’s system, a single government official can decide to take away citizenship, and that citizen has no right to a fair hearing to challenge the government's accusation, or even a right to see all the evidence brought against them.
Before Bill C-24, any Canadian in this situation had the right to a hearing in a court of law where a judge could consider all the facts in order to decide if citizenship should be taken away. Now, that right is gone.
Unjust revocations are happening now
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees all Canadians the right to a fair hearing, and this is all the more important when the stakes are so high.
In November, a case by individuals who have been caught up in this unjust process will ask the courts to determine whether this process is a violation of their right to a fair hearing. While the courts prepare to settle this question, many individuals have had their revocations put on pause— but not everyone.
Many individuals are still being issued revocation notices and having their citizenship revoked under this unfair process. Some people with access to lawyers have been able to halt these revocations until the court rules on the process. But many people without lawyers have had their citizenship taken away from them.
We’ve asked the government time and time again to press pause on these revocations while the courts decide if this process is constitutional, but so far they have declined.
If the government does not respond, we are prepared to act.
We need you to stand with us once more against the unjust removal of Canadian citizenship. Follow us onr0
