Immigration Minister: Citizenship and Revocation Cases

immigration minister: The changes are not a complete overhaul of the stringent citizenship regimen established by the Conservative government in 2014, though they relax the age requirement for language and knowledge tests, and the length of residency requirement, according to Toronto Star. While citizenship officers will keep their powers to strip citizenship from new Canadians in cases of fraud and misrepresentation, and individuals convicted of crimes will be barred from being granted citizenship, the Federal Court, instead of the immigration minister, will be the decision-maker in all revocation cases. Mathew McCarthy / Waterloo Region Record file photo By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Thu., June 22, 2017 Ottawa has passed citizenship changes that critics say strike the right balance between removing barriers for immigrants to become full Canadians and protecting the integrity of the system. The Liberals also immediately repealed a law put in place their Tory predecessor that gave Ottawa the power to strip citizenship from naturalized citizens for crimes committed after citizenship has already been granted something critics said created two distinct classes of citizens, those born here and abroad. The government has followed through on its promise to restore citizenship equality for all Canadians. We are thrilled that after more than three years of fighting, multiple lawsuits, and over a year of wrangling in Parliament, second-class citizenship has been put to an end, said Josh Paterson of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.