Bill C-24 Second Reading on February 27th:

[taleodor]

Lysane, Friday, in the HoC: (http://openparliament.ca/debates/2014/6/6/lysane-blanchette-lamothe-1/)

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to speak to Bill C-24 at report stage. This bill was introduced at first reading on February 6 and was debated for the first hour on February 27.

According to the minister, the bill is very important, but it sort of got forgotten after February 27. We read about it in newspapers, but it was not debated again until May 29. The government did not put Bill C-24 back on the House's agenda for many months, and we have no idea why.

Another irregularity is the fact that the committee began studying the bill before the end of second reading. This is a citizenship reform bill that has been needed for nearly 30 years. This 50-page bill, which was touted and heralded, did not even go through normal House procedures. We debated it for one hour, then it was shelved and then, all of a sudden, we were forced to study it at committee before second reading had even finished.

For those who are not familiar with parliamentary process, this means that experts and civil society are unable to react to or contribute to the bill by appearing before committee. Many people have asked me what is happening with Bill C-24 and how they can contribute by sharing their expertise in committee. I had to tell them that it was too late because the usual procedures were not followed. Experts and civil society did not hear much about the bill because committee rushed to study it and because it was not debated in the House as it should have been. Moreover, the committee stage was too short. The NDP asked to hear from more witnesses, but that idea was rejected.

After all that, it came back to the House for debate, and here we are less than a week later at report stage. The committee rushed its clause by clause study of Bill C-24. It did not do a thorough study following the usual procedures, and as a result, we have before us a bill that was not amended at all by the committee.

Regarding students:

Another aspect of clause 3 that is really problematic is the time of residence. There has been a lot of backlash from foreign students over the fact that their time of residence in Canada will, unfortunately, no longer count toward their application for citizenship and permanent residence.
When they arrived, they were told that they would contribute to society as students, workers and taxpayers and that the time they spent in the country as foreign students could count toward their application for citizenship.

Today, this bill changes the rules right under their noses and throws a wrench into their life plans in a number of ways. They will have to wait one or two more years before they can apply for citizenship. That is not fair, and I want to point out the work of this group in particular, whose time in the country before they become permanent residents counts. They are smart, engaged, involved and well aware of the value of Canadian citizenship. This provision of the bill is basically a slap in the face to foreign students.

Wow, great speech of hers.

 

[us2yow]

Lysane is a class act and a deeply committed and socially conscious person... It shows when she speaks and presents her arguments.

we need more people like her !

Wishing her only the best !

 

[Tolerance]

Lysane is a class act and a deeply committed and socially conscious person... It shows when she speaks and presents her arguments.

we need more people like her !

Wishing her only the best !

Did you know that she is only 30? Not sold her soul to the devil like those other old farts . Apparently, with age, all ideals disappear in favor of money grabbing .

 

[Tolerance]

Has anyone seen this documentary on Omni TV?

http://www2.omnitv.ca/programming/lang_docs_details.php?id=112
http://www.omnitv.ca/on/en/docs/begumpura/
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/05/28/colony_of_wives_thrives_in_mississauga.html

In a sense, the story of these women is the opposite of the age-old immigrant story — instead of sending remittances back home to support family left behind in poorer countries, these new Canadians rely on cash sent to them from other parts of the world to maintain a middle-class lifestyle here.

Documentary maker Lamba says she believes the aim for most is to make Canada home and establish roots.

She points out that many families pay taxes and rent. “Many of us buy houses, cars. We contribute to the economy and bring global experience to Canada. No one is taking any advantage.”

I always thought the citizenship of convenience story was bull. All of these people come, spend billions (education-all over again, housing, cars, insurance-5x more expensive than in the US, taxes...), and Canada keeps them at the bottom, won't let them work, in their field or otherwise. The documentary actually shows the lucky ones, where the husband at least makes enough money that they do not live in poverty here. But still, families are separated for years. They try to go through it, get their citizenship, and then maybe go back to the Middle East and wait till Canada has some real jobs for immigrants, if need be. Now the new bill, the last straw that breaks the camel's back .

Knowing Canadians and their love of of money and accounting, I honestly doubt it that this country would have immigration unless it was beneficial (read profitable) to them. But perhaps they should do a study to determine the net effects of immigration on the Canadian system. Baby boomers got scared about their retirement, brought all those people to work and pay into the system (because otherwise the CPP would collapse), but still they have the nerve to complain about them immigrants...

 

[us2yow]

These are the guys to contact:

I see two immigrants on the committee who are Cons....

http://www.parl.gc.ca/sencommitteebusiness/CommitteeHome.aspx?parl=41&ses=2&comm_id=47&Language=E

 

[Desert Lion]

Her speech won't change the fact that the conservatives have the majority and are rushing to pass the bill into law as soon as they can and it will pass sooner than any one can imagine and I do not accept stupid comments or replies to my comment as very one is free for what he or she believe, and I can think it will be passed into law on or before June 18, 2014

 

[marcus66502]

Her speech won't change the fact that the conservatives have the majority and are rushing to pass the bill into law as soon as they can and it will pass sooner than any one can imagine and I do not accept stupid comments or replies to my comment as very one is free for what he or she believe, and I can think it will be passed into law on or before June 18, 2014

You "can think" it will be passed before June 18, 2014? At this point I'd settle for you "can learn" to write properly, instead of offering predictions which (in all due respect) you're in no way qualified to make.

 

[mark brown]

to every consired persons who a worried ova canada laws...dont we all have our home land to go back to.....i love my home land...so what if canada pass thm law...u people let it seem like its the end of life.....wake up and accept the law of the people thm country...if u work in canada send back half of ur working money....to ur home land....wi neva born yah....so b smart up about ur future position here...thm stated all language evidence fi English speaking country.......also canada nuh speak English..lol

 

[Matt the Aussie]

to every consired persons who a worried ova canada laws...dont we all have our home land to go back to.....i love my home land...so what if canada pass thm law...u people let it seem like its the end of life.....wake up and accept the law of the people thm country...if u work in canada send back half of ur working money....to ur home land....wi neva born yah....so b smart up about ur future position here...thm stated all language evidence fi English speaking country.......also canada nuh speak English..lol

Is THIS English?? ???

 

[eileenf]

FYI, I am hearing from people who work in settlement services that the government is planning to implement the new citizenship procedures in August.

Obviously this is not set in stone, but there may be some time between the passage of the bill and the implementation of the bill.

 

[Hasher]

Now question is " application send few days before the implementation of the new law will be considered" or only those applications will be considered that are send and accepted by CIC. Normally now days, it takes around 4 months to receive acceptance from CIC.

 

[Observer]

I also heard from some contacts that the bill will take effect in Aug (which is against my expectations), I still believe the bill will take place towards end of June.

 

[Sharif11]

I guess the few coming days will certainly give us some clues when the bill will be implemented!

 

[zardoz]

The problem with all of this "predicting" is that one person starts a "Rumour" somewhere, and it starts to become "Fact", the more that people repeat it to others..

Seriously, we need to stop all this guesswork and wait until we are told, by someone who has the authority to speak about it, for example, the Government.... Anything else is just "chinese whispers"....

 

[CanV]

I also heard from some contacts that the bill will take effect in Aug (which is against my expectations), I still believe the bill will take place towards end of June.

No it wont. How many times do I have to tell you this?