COW - Senate public bills s-204 and s-230 - June 10, 2021

Key messages

• The Government understands the intent of Bill S-204. We will continue to take all necessary measures to protect public health, safety and security of Canadians.
• I look forward to discussing this bill with my colleagues in the other place.
• The Government also understands the importance of continuing to address possible issues related to past provisions of the Citizenship Act.
• I look forward to discussing Bill S-230 with my colleagues in the other place, should it be referred there by the Senate.

Background

There are two active Senate Public Bills of interests to the Department:

• Bill S-204, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs). Minister of Justice lead.
• Bill S-230, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians).

Bill S-204:

The Bill was passed in the Senate without amendments on May 6, 2021, and subsequently placed on the Order of Precedence in the House of Common on May 10, 2021. It is currently awaiting a determination on votability by the House of Commons Subcommittee on Private Members’ Business of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (SMEM). Should the item be deemed votable, it is projected that the 1st hour debate at 2nd reading will occur on June 17, 2021.

Intent of Bill S-204:

• This Bill proposes to protect vulnerable persons who have organs extracted by coercion, or who sell their own organs (often out of financial need), by
  • creating new Criminal Code offences targeting organ trafficking-related conduct that would apply extra-territorially, including a financial transaction offence that would criminalize sick persons who purchase organs in order to target “transplant tourism” (purchasing life-saving organs abroad, usually due to organ shortages in Canada); and,
  • amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to make foreign nationals or permanent residents of Canada who engage in conduct that would constitute an offence under one of the proposed organ trafficking offences, inadmissible to Canada for having violated human or international rights.

Bill S-230:

The Bill was debated briefly at Second Reading in the Senate on June 1, 2021, and now stands referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI). The Committee will begin studying the Bill on June 11, 2021. The SOCI Committee Clerk has informed Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Parliamentary Affairs unit that departmental officials could be invited to appear at SOCI to discuss Bill S-230 at a time yet to be determined.

Intent of Bill S-230:

• The Bill would amend the Citizenship Act to automatically bestow citizenship to certain persons born abroad in the second or subsequent generation (i.e. whose parents are Canadian but were also born outside of Canada) and who did not apply to retain their citizenship under the requirements of a former provision of the Act, which was repealed in 2008 (section 8).
• It would also amend provisions of the Act related to the first generation limit (i.e. which limits citizenship by descent to only those individuals born abroad with a Canadian parent who was born or naturalized in Canada) by pushing back its application from the current date of April 17, 2009, to June 11, 2015.
• The Bill would also extend access to a simplified process to renounce citizenship for those people who would automatically become citizens as a result of the Bill, but who do not wish to become Canadian citizens.