By Jeff J. Li
On June 19, 2014, Bill C-24, also known as Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, received royal assent. The Bill introduced major changes to the current citizenship grant regime.
Most significantly, citizenship applicants will need to be physically present in Canada for a total of four out of their last six years. In addition, they will need to be physically present in Canada for 183 days per year for at least four of those six years. Currently, citizenship applicants will only need to be “resident” in Canada for 3 out of the last 4 years.
Further, what “resident” means is not defined in the current Citizenship Act. Some applicants may count time living outside Canada for the calculation of their Canadian residency period for citizenship application purposes. The amendment clarifies that an applicant must be physically present in Canada, with very few exceptions (the most important exception is for those who serve or have served in Canadian Armed Force abroad).
The Amendments also stipulate that applicants between 14 and 64 years old must meet Canadian knowledge and language requirements. They must submit evidence of their official language abilities and take a test of citizenship knowledge. Currently, only applicants between 18 and 54 years old are required to do so.
Procedurally, the handling of citizenship applications is simplified by allowing Citizenship and Immigration officers to decide all aspects of a citizenship application. With such changes, obtaining citizenship is a three-step process as it is now. This may involve “citizenship judges” who are mostly politically appointed, and which produces duplication of work. Because of this, the Government estimates that by 2015-2016, the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent.
Legal Challenges
Bill C-24 is not without controversy. Even before it was passed, legal professionals have voiced their concerns over some new measures the Bill introduced. One is the amendment that allows Canada to revoke citizenship for dual nationals who are convicted of serious crimes such as terrorism, high treason and spying offences (depending on the sentence received) or who take up arms against Canada. In connection with this, permanent residents who commit these acts may be barred from citizenship.
At least two lawyers (Rocco Galati and Manuel Azevedo) and the Constitutional Rights Centre have filed a notice of application in the Federal Court of Canada, asking the court to declare the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act unconstitutional. They cited the principles and measures of citizenship protections in such laws as from the Magna Carta (Great Charter, passed in England in 1215) to the Constitution Act, 1867, and argued that the legislated measures are beyond Parliament’s jurisdiction.
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers also indicated that they will fight the citizenship measures in the courts. Their main arguments are that Bill C-24 violates equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom by creating separate classes of Canadians. More specifically, the legislation treats people born outside Canada and those born inside differently, an apparent violation of section 15 of the Charter. It is expected that the Government will argue such discriminatory measures are justified, as similar measures have been taken in other democratic societies.
If such challenges do not succeed, it is expected that the new provisions will come into full force in approximately a year.
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