[LINK] "‘Secret’ proposal would nix citizen rights for babies born in Canada"

[rfmcdonald]

I read Nicholas Keung's report that the Canadian government is interested in reforming Canadian nationality law to seriously modify Jus soli, limiting Canadian citizenship at birth to persons born to citizens or permanent residents, in the morning Metro. I'm pleased to see it got picked up in the Hamilton Spectator, since this is very important stuff.

Immigration officials have recommended that Ottawa remove citizenship rights to babies born in Canada to non-citizens and non-residents even though the small number of cases doesn't justify the costs.

The proposal, marked "secret" and with inputs from various federal departments, found fewer than 500 cases of children being born to foreign nationals in Canada each year, amounting to just 0.14 per cent of the 360,000 total births per year in the country.

The issue of citizenship by birth on Canadian soil once again raises concerns among critics over the current government's policy considerations being based on ideologies rather than evidence and objective cost-benefit analyses.

"An impartial observer would conclude that the evidence supports no need for change, given the small number of cases. Yet the recommendation supports the government's public rhetoric and anecdotes on the need for change," said Andrew Griffith, a former director general for citizenship and multiculturalism at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and author of Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias.

[. . .]

"Eliminating birth on soil in order to ensure that everyone who obtains citizenship at birth has a strong connection to Canada would have significant cost implications," said the 17-page report prepared for former immigration minister Jason Kenney, obtained under an access to information request.