Last week, Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, floated the idea of legislation to strip Canadians who commit terrorist acts of their citizenship.
The idea came after the government of Bulgaria said a citizen of Canada was involved in an attack on a tourist bus filled with Israelis last summer. The attack has been attributed to Hezbollah.
The Canadian government acknowledges the dual citizen involved although they are not releasing his name. He was born in Lebanon and came to Canada with his parents when he was eight years old and later obtained Canadian citizenship. When he was 12, his parents split up and he returned to Lebanon with his mother. Although he had only come back to Canada a couple of times to visit relatives, he retained his Canadian citizenship and his passport that helped him enter Bulgaria.
Two weeks before Bulgaria released the information, the prime minister of Algeria said two of the terrorists who took part in the attack on the gas plant that left 38 people dead, were Canadians.
A private members’ bill is currently before Parliament dealing with non-citizens and the Canadian Forces. In addition to making it easier for those serving in Canada’s military to obtain citizenship, the bill also provides for the revocation of citizenship for naturalized citizens who take part in acts of war against the Canadian military.
Kenney is considering broadening the bill to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Canadians who engage in acts of terrorism that is not necessarily directed at the Canadian Forces.
These proposed changes would only affect Canadian citizens who hold dual citizenship. It is a violation of international law to strip someone of their citizenship if doing so would render them stateless. And citizens of Canada by birth would not be affected.
Currently someone can only be stripped of their citizenship if they made misrepresentations or concealed material facts when they applied to become a Canadian citizen.
Naturally, there are the naysayers to whom stripping the citizenship of those who have declared war on their country of citizenship is appalling. Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae accused Kenney and the Harper government of engaging in a “knee-jerk” reaction. Rae, one of the most vociferous critics of the Conservatives abolishing the long-gun registry, would never call the push for greater gun control in the U.S., begun by Obama before the bodies of the Sandy Hook children were even cold, a knee jerk reaction to the tragedy. Of course not. Rae is living proof of how the once mighty Natural Governing Party has fallen to third place. Like the Liberal Party in general, Rae should just be ignored.
One of the arguments against revoking the citizenship of dual nationals is that it will create two classes of citizens. The answer to that is, so what? It is really no different than what happens with the status of Canadian permanent residents. Permanent residency is hardly permanent because the status can be revoked and an immigrant can be deported for serious criminality. Because the status of a citizen is higher than that of a permanent resident, is not a legitimate argument to revoke the citizenship of someone who is at war with Canada.
A second argument involves the slippery slope; revocations will begin with terrorists and be broadened to include other activities such as serious criminality. Again, so what? Even if this would be undesirable, it does not override the fact that those who have gained Canadian citizenship and engaged in terrorism against Canada and our allies, should not be allowed to travel the world with a Canadian passport.
This is not the first time revocation of citizenship has been discussed. There were many Lebanese who came to Canada, obtained citizenship and then returned to live permanently in Lebanon. During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, these citizens demanded that “their” government facilitate and pay for their return to Canada.
For citizenship to mean something, it has to involve responsibilities as well as rights. It is not too much to require at a minimum that Canadian citizens do not engage in a war with the purpose of destroying our way of life.
