By arthur Weinreb
Thursday, November 23, 2006
The war that broke out last July between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon brought the concept of dual citizenship to the attention of Canadians. Several thousand Canadian citizens found themselves in Lebanon while that country was being bombed by Israeli forces and the Canadian government was forced to evacuate its citizens. While many of these Canadian citizens were residents of Canada who were visiting the Middle East during a peak vacation time, many others were not. Many people that Canadian taxpayers were forced to pay to evacuate were those who had originally come to Canada as permanent residents, taken out citizenship and then gone back to live in Lebanon on a permanent basis. While most no doubt paid taxes to Canada while they were here, many hadn't been residents of Canada in decades. They were Canadian citizens in name only. Yet for evacuation purposes, the Canadian government did not distinguish between those citizens who were spending a two-week vacation in the Middle East country and those that had been living there permanently.
On Tuesday, Pierre Gemayel, 34, an anti-Syrian Christian cabinet minister was assassinated in Beirut. The death of the son of a previous Lebanese prime minister threatened to plunge the country into a civil war between the pro and anti-Syrian factions in the country. although it is too early to tell if there will be all out war between the two groups, the possibility cannot be ignored.
If a civil war breaks out in Lebanon, Canada will be forced to once again withdraw its citizens from what will be a war-torn country. along with Canadians who happen to have the misfortune to be visiting Lebanon when the war breaks out will be those dual citizens who are permanently living in Lebanon. Canadian taxpayers will be once again forced to pay the cost of bringing to Canada, many of the same people who were brought to Canada last summer and then made their way "home” after the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel ended.
When the war ended, the dispute between Israel and the Syrian-backed terrorist group naturally moved off of the front pages of newspapers along with the debate that took place regarding the rights of dual citizenship. Now there is a strong possibility of a replay of last summer's situation.
Many people argue that all citizens should be equal and no one should be relegated to the status of second class citizen. Rubbish. although many people oppose this view, Canadian citizenship should not only come with rights but with responsibilities as well. But in the last 40 years or so, the notion that people (as opposed to the state) should have to take responsibility for anything, least of all their own actions, has fallen out of favour. We need to change the laws regarding dual citizenship to make Canada more than just a rescue squad for people who are citizens in name only. and if this leads to two classes of citizenship, then we'll simply have to have two classes.
Lebanon and the Lebanese seem to be singled out for the wrath of Canadians who resent having to pay to bring these citizens back to Canada to wait for calmer times when they can return to the country of their preferred residence. But Lebanon is far from being the only country that has a significant number of residents that hold Canadian passports. Lebanon just happens to be the country that was engaged in a war last summer and now stands on what is perhaps the brink of another war.
The law needs to be changed and changed now. Canada doesn't necessarily have to strip these people of their citizenship, but all Canadian citizens should be forced to take some responsibility. Those who have not resided in Canada for a certain period of time or those who have not paid Canadian taxes while being abroad for a certain length of time should be disentitled to financial assistance to return to Canada to sit out current hardships in their chosen country of residence. This issue should not be allowed to go away if the current possibilities of war in Lebanon do not come to fruition.
Last year's evacuation of Canadian citizens was an expensive proposition. The next one will be an expensive joke.
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