The bill, known as C-6, is considered a centrepiece of the new government's legislative agenda. The Liberal chair of the House Immigration Committee, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, said this week that he hopes the bill will pass into law in time for Canada Day, July 1, with the only major potential stumbling block being how the bill is handled by Conservative Senators once it reaches the Senate.
Among the proposed amendments is the repeal of a controversial provision that allows the government to revoke citizenship from dual Canadian citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage.
The legislation would also reduce the amount of time permanent residents have to live in Canada in order to become eligible to apply for citizenship, from four out of six years to three out five years, and would allow applicants who spent time in Canada on temporary status to count this time towards the three-year requirement. This particular aspect of the legislation has been warmly welcomed by new immigrants, foreign workers, and international students alike who view their long-term future in Canada.
In addition, the proposed amendments would repeal the intent to reside provision and remove language proficiency requirements for certain applicants.
It would also allow the government the right to seize documents used to obtain citizenship fraudulently. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced earlier this week that two men, acting as immigration consultants, were summoned to appear in court. The men are accused of counselling individuals to misrepresent information in their applications, as well as forging and using counterfeit documents. They are also accused of having acted as immigration representatives in return for compensation, when in fact they were not authorized.
Currently, Canadian Immigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn't doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system. The report uncovered instances of people with serious criminal records and others using potentially phoney addresses among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship thanks to holes in the system.
Among the proposed amendments is the repeal of a controversial provision that allows the government to revoke citizenship from dual Canadian citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage.
The legislation would also reduce the amount of time permanent residents have to live in Canada in order to become eligible to apply for citizenship, from four out of six years to three out five years, and would allow applicants who spent time in Canada on temporary status to count this time towards the three-year requirement. This particular aspect of the legislation has been warmly welcomed by new immigrants, foreign workers, and international students alike who view their long-term future in Canada.
In addition, the proposed amendments would repeal the intent to reside provision and remove language proficiency requirements for certain applicants.
It would also allow the government the right to seize documents used to obtain citizenship fraudulently. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced earlier this week that two men, acting as immigration consultants, were summoned to appear in court. The men are accused of counselling individuals to misrepresent information in their applications, as well as forging and using counterfeit documents. They are also accused of having acted as immigration representatives in return for compensation, when in fact they were not authorized.
Currently, Canadian Immigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn't doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system. The report uncovered instances of people with serious criminal records and others using potentially phoney addresses among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship thanks to holes in the system.