Second-class citizenship is dead!
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- Published on Monday, 19 June 2017 11:45
- Written by editor
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After three years of work, we’ve defeated the second-class citizenship bill!
Thursday, the House of Commons passed Bill C-6 which undoes many of the worst provisions of Bill C-24, including the provision that allowed for citizenship-stripping of dual citizens.
Not only that, but the House passed it with a critical amendment that restores the right to a fair hearing for people at risk of losing their citizenship under allegations of misrepresentation.
Together, these are extraordinary victories for citizenship equality and due process.
Read the details in our new blog post.
Your support is the only reason we won.
When the BCCLA and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) first pointed out all the ways in which Bill C-24 would undermine citizenship equality, our community stepped up:
- Community members helped translate important information about Bill C-24 into 11 different languages and get that info into multi-lingual community newspapers across the country.
- More than 117,000 people signed our petition calling on every party leader to commit to restoring citizenship equality.
- Thousands of you emailed and called your elected representatives every single time we asked you to take action.
This victory has been an extraordinary story of community strength. Thank you so much.
This sustained public pressure over multiple years, combined with expert testimony from BCCLA and CARL lawyers, and a pivotal decision by the federal court, were the recipe for success.
Together, these are the kinds of victories for human rights and civil liberties that we can achieve.
When government seeks to discriminate and violate our cherished right and freedoms, the BCCLA will be there, and we know you will be too.
If you’re not already a member, sign up today! We are only strong because you stand with us.
Thank you for standing up for citizenship equality. Because of you, we won.
Talk soon,
Everyone at the BCCLA
