Hi Folks,
It’s been a little while since my last post and I wanted to touch base with you about a few new things that have come before Parliament since the last time I wrote.
First of all, I want to talk to you about the changes coming to the Citizenship Act under our Government’s Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act. I am very pleased with the changes proposed in this new Act. Please let me highlight a few of the major ones for you:
1. Physical presence in Canada – Those seeking Canadian citizenship will now be required to be physically present in Canada for 1,460 days (four years) out of the six years. Under the current Act, residence in Canada is only required for three years and there is no requirement that the resident be physically present in Canada. Out of those four years, it will also be required that the resident be physically present at least 183 days a year in four out of those six years.
2. “Lost Canadians” – This bill will extend citizenship to “Lost Canadians” born before 1947 as well as their 1st generation children born abroad. My son Robb was born in Germany when I was posted abroad and he faced issues in obtaining proof of Canadian citizenship. I firmly believe Canadian citizenship should be easily obtainable by the children of Canadians born abroad and serving abroad.
3. Revoking Citizenship – The new bill also creates the authority to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual citizens who were members of an armed force or organized group engaged in armed conflict with Canada, and deny citizenship to Permanent Residents for the same reason. It also establishes the authority to revoke Canadian citizenship and deny it to Permanent Residents who are convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason, or spying offences, depending on the sentence received. If you take up arms against our country, you should not be able to continue to benefit from the rights of Canadian citizenship.
4. Honouring those who serve Canada – This new bill also establishes a fast-track mechanism for citizenship for Permanent Residents serving with—and individuals on exchange with—the Canadian Armed Forces to honour their service to Canada. Those serving in the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces should be able to move up the line faster to become a citizen of Canada. This is just one example of the type of immigrants we want to become Canadian citizens.
Canadian citizenship is valuable. We do not want a Canadian passport to become one of convenience. We want Canadians that fully embrace the rights AND responsibilities of their citizenship. This bill takes another step in enhancing the value of Canadian citizenship, and I welcome these changes and your comments on them.
Another piece of legislation that our Government has brought forward in recent weeks is the Fair Elections Act. This is part of our Government’s commitment to uphold the integrity of our voting system. In the 2013 Speech from the Throne, our Government committed to bringing forward changes to Canada’s election laws before the next federal election.
The Fair Elections Act will make our laws tough, clear and easy-to-follow. It will make life harder for election law-breakers, and put the focus back on honest people taking part in our democracy. It will implement 38 of the Chief Electoral Officer’s past recommendations. The bill brings to light concerns raised by Canadians, various groups and think tanks, Elections Canada and parliamentarians themselves.
Among other things, the Fair Elections Act will:
1. Protect voters from rogue calls with a mandatory public registry for mass calling, prison time for impersonating elections officials, and increased penalties.
2. Give more independence to the Commissioner of Canada Elections, allowing him or her control over their staff and investigations, empowering him or her to seek tougher penalties for existing electoral offences, and providing more than a dozen new offences to combat big money, rogue calls, and fraudulent voting.
3. Crack down on voter fraud by prohibiting vouching or Voter Information Cards as acceptable forms of ID, while continuing to allow 39 forms of authorized identification for voters to prove identity and residence.
4. Ban the use of loans used to evade donation rules. The personal donation limit will rise to $1,500 and election spending limits will increase by 5%. A total ban on union and corporate money will remain.
5. Repeal the ban on premature transmission of election results, upholding free speech.
6. Provide better customer service to voters, and establish an extra day of polling.
I am encouraged by the tabling of this bill. It is comprehensive, covers a lot of ground and addresses a number of issues related to the electoral process that have come up in the news in the past few years. Our democracy will never be perfect, but this bill will make it better. I have often been told that our democracy “does not work.” That’s true; we have to work it. The Fair Elections Act will help us continue to ensure our democracy functions well for ourselves and future generations.
Thank you for reading. Now I want to hear from you. You can find me on Facebook, message me on Twitter, submit a comment to me at www.lauriehawn.ca or email me at [email protected] Please let me know what you think of these pieces of legislation. Thank you for taking part in our democratic process.
For more information on the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, please visit: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/backgrounders/2014/2014-02-06.asp
For more information on the Fair Elections Act, please visit: www.democraticreform.gc.ca
Sincerely,
Laurie Hawn, PC, CD, MP