The federal government will not appeal a court ruling that found parts of Canada’s citizenship law unconstitutional.
Last month, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the “second generation” rule, which denies automatic citizenship to children born abroad to Canadian parents, would allow the federal government to break the Charter. The court ruled that the rights were infringed.
In an interview with CBC News Sunday, lawyer Sujit Chowdhury confirmed that he was informed last week by representatives of the federal government that they would not appeal.
Ottawa had 30 days to appeal the ruling, but that deadline passed Thursday.
“My clients are relieved. It’s been a long and tough battle,” said Chaudhry, who represents families affected by the law.
Chaudhry filed a constitutional challenge in December 2021 when his clients sued the federal government for denying their foreign-born descendants the right to pass on citizenship.
Critics have long argued that the law creates a two-tier hierarchy of citizenship, with different rules depending on whether a Canadian was born abroad.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Jasmine Akbarari agreed in a December ruling, stating that foreign-born Canadians who were born abroad “inherit Canadian citizenship by descent to their children, unlike Canadian-born citizens. Because they cannot, they hold a lower level of citizenship.” abroad. “
Lawsuit hailed as victory for up to 200,000 ‘lost Canadians’ — A group of people who are not considered citizens because of gaps or disputes in the interpretation of citizenship laws.
The second-generation blockade was created in 2009 as part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government’s crackdown on Canadian citizens living permanently abroad. The move came in response to the $85 million evacuation of 15,000 Lebanese-Canadians stranded in Beirut during the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
In his ruling, Akbarari noted public anxiety about the Beirut evacuation, but added, “The highest level of evidence is to show that some people were concerned about it…nationals with no ties to Canada. There is no evidence that such citizens exist, and even if such citizens exist, their existence or citizenship poses no problem.”
the federal government must act
The federal government has six months to repeal the second-generation discontinuation in the law, which would require enacting new legislation or passing legislation already under discussion. there is a possibility.
Senate Bill S-245 was amended in committee to remove the second-generation truncation rule and replace it with a “substantive connections test” for passing citizenship to foreign-born Canadian children.
In his ruling, Akbarari said S-245 is a “head start” for lawmakers to amend the citizenship law to make it fully constitutional within six months.
It’s unclear how the federal government will respond. Mark Miller, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, declined to comment.
The court also ordered the federal government to grant citizenship to four foreign-born children from three Canadian families involved in the case. Chaudhry said he received his citizenship certificate last week.
“They’re overjoyed,” he said.
