Conservatives are raising fresh concerns over Bill C-3, arguing the legislation devalues Canadian citizenship by removing language tests, citizenship exams and discretionary security screenings.
Conservatives are warning that the Carney Liberals are devaluing Canadian citizenship after Bill C-3 came into force without requiring language tests, citizenship exams or discretionary security screening for people recognized as citizens by descent.
Because Bill C-3 treats eligible applicants as citizens by operation of law rather than new immigrants, those recognized retroactively need only prove an unbroken line of Canadian ancestry to obtain a citizenship certificate.
“Should a person with a criminal record be entitled to automatic citizenship in Canada? The Liberal government seems to think so,” Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said Jul. 16.
The Conservatives argue Bill C-3 could allow foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes to obtain Canadian citizenship without undergoing the same vetting required of immigrants.
