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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Better news! Liberals introduce bill to repeal many Conservative citizenship changes (G&M)

Read the entire article here

The Liberal government has introduced a bill that would repeal many parts of the former Conservative government’s citizenship legislation, including a provision that revoked citizenship from dual Canadian citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage.

The proposed changes would automatically reinstate citizenship for one individual whose citizenship was revoked last fall before the election under the Conservatives’ Bill C-24, according to department officials speaking on background Thursday. That individual was charged with terrorism and is currently serving their sentence in a Canadian prison, said the officials.

In last year’s election, the Liberals promised to repeal the controversial legislation, which gave the government the power to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage, and dual citizens who were members of an armed force of a country or members of an organized armed group that was engaged in a conflict with Canada.

“I am very pleased to announce these changes which are entirely consistent with the promises we made during the election campaign and on which we as a government were elected,” Immigration Minister John McCallum said Thursday.

The proposed changes are in line with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments in a heated election debate about citizenship last September, where he said “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”

When this bill passes, which it will, I will be immediately eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship!

Now if they would be thoughtful enough to reduce the current $530 application fee back to the $100 it was before the Tories got their hands on it. To put this fee in context, for a Canadian permanent resident earning a minimum wage, this is nearly 2/3 of an entire month's pay. It's hard enough to make ends meet on a minimum wage, so let's lower this barrier to entry. It was another Tory mechanism to reduce applications and another example of Harper's evil intent to control the complexion (literally) of this nation. We are better than that.  

3 comments:

  1. Hi there,

    I'm an American citizen who has been stuck in the Express Entry pool since it opened at the start of 2015. I've been a mere few points away from an invitation from Canada ever since, with no end to the waiting in sight (and this was before all the Trump nonsense down here!) I am at the end of my rope, trying to research ways to be able to move to Canada. I see that your EBook was published in 2012, and therefore wouldn't cover Express Entry. Do you have any advice or insight to this process at all?

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  2. You are correct that my book does not cover the fluid Express Entry system put in place under the Tories. One of the issues with that system was that employers had to pick you from a pool of candidates in order for your application to take the next step. I would recommend that you look into Provincial Nomination programs, especially in Provinces that are having a net loss of population (like the Maritimes). I would also suggest you contact an immigration consultant, may of whom offer free evaluations. There may be options available to you that you are unaware of at the time. One of the biggest hurdles for Canadian immigration is that programs and requirements have been in flux. If this is something you really want, there will be a way for you. Just be flexible and do your homework. In my own situation, as as I note in my book: you have to be advocating for yourself constantly and keeping up on the issues that may impact your file. If Express Entry isn't working for you, then look for another route - waiting is rarely the right thing to do. Hope this helps.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you - That does help! I have applied for a Nova Scotia nomination, and keep as up to date on everything as possible. I guess persistence and determination is just the name of the game.
      Cheers

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