.

NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Friday, August 22, 2014

Canada may tighten ‘citizenship by birth’ rules



“The best gift you can give your newborn
is a Canadian passport.”


Canada is looking to end 'citizenship by birth.'

Canada and the United States are the only two western countries that still automatically grant citizenship to anyone born on their soil. That means if non-citizens or non-residents have a baby in Canada, the baby becomes a citizen and can, as an adult, sponsor his or her parent for immigration.

According to a 'secret' 2013 document presented to then-immigration minister Jason Kenney — put together by various federal departments — the Harper government is being urged to eliminate that birthright.


One of the main concerns is that automatically giving citizenship to those born in Canada can lead to fraud.

In 2013, the National Post reported on a Canada Border Services Agency document which suggested that a number of pregnant Nigerian women made their way to Canada in a "pattern... reminiscent of an attempt to exploit birthright laws."

The Post called it "birth tourism."
Foreign-language websites now offer to house pregnant mothers close to hospitals in the “maple syrup kingdom,” while listing the social welfare benefits available in Canada — free education, free health care, child benefits, old age pension.  
Many of the websites offer toll free calling from China. “The best gift you can give your newborn is a Canadian passport,” reads one such website, which rates Canada favorably against the U.S. since the latter offers relatively poor welfare benefits and the costs of living and education are higher.
A government source confirmed to Yahoo Canada News that they are indeed "reviewing citizenship policy with regard to the issue of birth tourism," but that no final decision has been made.

(Yahoo News - Canada)

Instant Citizen
If your water breaks in Canada or the U.S.
your baby wins the citizenship lottery.

No comments: