Ottawa, April 9, 2009 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today launched a short video to raise awareness among people who may be affected by changes to Canadian citizenship law. The changes come into effect later this month and give Canadian citizenship to many who lost it or never had it due to outdated rules.
“Waking Up Canadian” features a man who has been eagerly counting the days until the new law comes into force. He is thrilled with the surprises that await him when he literally wakes up Canadian on April 17, 2009. Waking up, his room is surrounded by important Canadian symbols and icons including a hockey player, a beaver and a moose, a portrait of the Sovereign, and national and historical flags.
“In enacting this law, Parliament gave its unanimous support to extending the privilege of Canadian citizenship to many who lost it or who never had it due to outdated legislation,” said Minister Kenney. “Because of this legislation, the government can take concrete action to help many who had their citizenship questioned in the past.”
The changes to the Citizenship Act mean that certain people who became Canadian citizens on January 1, 1947, when the first Citizenship Act took effect, or after, and who then lost their citizenship, will have their status restored to the date they lost it. Others, who were never Canadian, but who are part of the first generation born outside Canada on or after January 1, 1947, to a Canadian parent, will become Canadian. Their citizenship will be retroactive to their date of birth.
The new law also protects the value of Canadian citizenship for the future by limiting citizenship by descent to one generation born outside Canada.
To view the “Waking Up Canadian” video, go to YouTube.
Consult the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca/citizenship to find out more about the new citizenship law, and check back for regular updates.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
Media Relations Unit
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
