On June 19, 2014, Bill C-24 received Royal Assent and was passed into law. Referred to as the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, the provisions are coming into force on staggered dates. Some of the amendments to the Citizenship Act took place immediately, some on Aug. 1, and others will come in on dates set by the Governor-in-Council.
One of the provisions will allow the government of Canada to deny or revoke Canadian citizenship of a dual or prospective dual citizen who has been convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying. Only dual citizens or potential dual citizens will be affected as leaving a person stateless by revoking their only citizenship is illegal under international law. As well, from a practical point of view, a person who would be rendered stateless would not be able to be removed from Canada as no other state would be required to take them.
Another key amendment is to deny or revoke Canadian citizenship to anyone who has served in the armed forces or “an organized armed group engaged in an armed conflict with Canada.”
In a recent report, it is estimated about 130 Canadians are now fighting for ISIS and other terrorist groups, have returned to Canada, or have died while fighting in the Middle East.
Speaking in London, Ontario last week, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau made it clear what he thinks of the Conservative government’s proposal to strip dual citizens of their Canadian citizenship if they are engaged in terrorist acts outside of the country. He doesn’t like it one bit.
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act: Conservative government’s proposal to strip dual citizens of their Canadian citizenship if they are engaged in terrorist acts outside of the country
After asking his views of the change, Trudeau answered that Canada has strong penalties for those who commit terrorist acts and what the government is doing is creating a system of two-tiered citizenship. He added it is against the principle that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian and that is what made Canada great. A naturalized citizen should not lose their citizenship because of their behaviour even though that behaviour is reprehensible.
As any objective observer of Trudeau knows, he is not particularly bright and has virtually no experience in life, in the world or in politics. He is supported by the young who love his policy of legalizing marijuana or by older lefties who harken back to the days of Daddy Trudeau and see Junior as being able to bring in the utopia that is always promised by liberals. His views on this particular issue are dangerous.
While it is easy and fun to laugh at some of the things he comes out with, he is the leader of the Liberal Party and what he says on issues will become government policy if he forms the next government and becomes prime minister.
He objects to having two-tiered citizenship but ignores or really doesn’t know that we have had a two-tiered system before these current amendments. Citizens who were born outside of Canada but ultimately gained citizenship could always have that citizenship revoked for fraud. It was usually reserved for aging Nazis who had come to Canada after World War II and made misleading statements about their Nazi past. Only lately has the Harper government begun to take action against those who have fraudulently obtained citizenship for other misrepresentations, usually by lying about the residence requirements necessary before an application for citizenship can be properly made.
Since the Citizenship Act first came into being in its current form, the Liberal Party has had majority governments but never abolished the law that could revoke citizenship awarded to people who used fraud to get it. And Trudeau doesn’t have anything particular to say about stripping naturalized Canadians of their citizenship obtained by fraud.
No, Justin-boy and his band of looney Liberals are only complaining about taking away the citizenship of those who leave Canada to join terrorist groups that slaughter innocent civilians and threaten to do the same when they return to Canada.
There is no doubt, if Trudeau becomes prime minister, these dual citizen Islamists will be welcomed back to Canada with open arms.
As an example, Bilal Philips, 68, will eventually be deported to Canada much to the delight of the Liberals. The Jamaican-born Philips immigrated to Canada and converted to Islam in the 1970s.
Philips is currently detained in the Philippines where, because he is a Canadian citizen, he is being provided with consular services by the Canadian government. Previously, the 68-year-old extremist, who has ties to al Qaeda and terrorism, has been banned or expelled from Germany, Bangladesh, Kenya, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
He is being held in the Philippines for allegedly inciting and recruiting persons into terrorism.
If boy Trudeau has his way, Canada would gladly take him back. It is not clear he has committed an offence under Canadian law so he would most likely go free and end up at an extremist mosque in Canada. In between his busy terror recruitment activities, Trudeau could visit him to teach him all about Canadian values such as same sex marriage (Philip has said homosexuals are evil and deviant). It would be bad for Canada but it would give Trudeau more pleasure than getting a new hairdo.
Under Bill C-24, Philips could be stripped of his citizenship preventing his return to Canada and forcing the government of the Philippines to deport him to Jamaica.
Justin Trudeau is beyond the stage of simply being a joke. A Liberal government led by Junior and sympathetic to terrorists would be dangerous.
