The Liberal government has introduced a bill that would provide citizenship to individuals born abroad to Canadian parents who themselves were born in a foreign country, following the unsuccessful attempt of a similar bill in Parliament last year.
New Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab presented Bill C-3 in the House of Commons June 5.
The proposed legislation seeks to overturn a change made by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009 that prohibited Canadians born outside the country from transferring citizenship to their offspring unless those children were born in Canada.
Then-Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the rule was enacted to discourage “Canadians of convenience.” She described the legislation as an easy way to “protect” the value of Canadian citizenship by ensuring all citizens had a “real connection” to the country….