Conservative filibuster threatens potential citizenship for children born abroad
Andrea Fessler found out her third daughter didn't qualify for Canadian citizenship -- even though her two older daughters did -- when she arrived at the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong to register.
She's one of many Canadians who were born abroad and whose children do not qualify for citizenship unless they are born in Canada because of a 2009 change to the law.
There is hope for a reversal of that change as members of Parliament debate amendments to the Citizenship Act. But an ongoing Conservative filibuster is threatening that hope.
Fessler was born in Israel while her father was completing a two-year post-doctoral degree in the country. Her family returned to Canada when she was two, where she grew up in Vancouver before moving to Ottawa to work as a page in the House of Commons.
All three of her girls were born abroad, but because of the legal change in 2009, Fessler's youngest daughter, Daria, is the only one without legal ties to Canada.
"Had I known about the change of the law in 2009, it's very possible that I would have gone to Canada to give birth, but I had absolutely no idea," she said in an interview from her home in Hong Kong.
The NDP proposed a change that would make people like Daria eligible for citizenship if their Canadian parent can prove they spent at least three years in Canada.
The new rule, which is supported by the Liberals, was tacked onto a private member's bill at the House of Commons immigration committee.
The committee has until June 14 to finish reviewing the amended bill, or else it will be sent back to the House of Commons without the new changes.
"I have been informing the girls of the legislative process, and how there is a hope and how hopeful I am that at some point Daria will be able to have a Canadian passport," Fessler said.
Daria, who is now 12, dreams of going to university in Vancouver, where her family takes an annual vacation. But as it stands now, she would need to apply for an international student visa to return.
"She's very hopeful" that that could change, Fessler said.
The private member's bill was initially put forward by Conservative Sen. Yonah Martin to address a particular quirk in citizenship law.
The NDP and Liberals seized on the opportunity to pass amendments to the bill that would have much more wide-ranging implications for the citizenship of children born outside of the country.
That irked Conservative members of the committee, who feel the Citizenship Act is being rewritten without the appropriate study or due diligence.
"These are substantive amendments, which materially affect the Citizenship Act. So they deserve scrutiny, and we are scrutinizing them," said Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who serves on the committee.
Ottawa grandmother Carol Sutherland-Brown said the NDP's amendment gave her hope that her grandchildren will one day qualify for Canadian citizenship.
But that hope has dwindled with every meeting of the committee she's watched since.
"I felt elated when the amendment went through for the connection test, and then it's just dashed," Sutherland-Brown said.
Sutherland-Brown met her husband in Canada before she moved to Saudi Arabia to work at a hospital with him when she was 26 years old. She was still living there when she had her daughter Marisa.
The family moved back to Canada when Marisa was two years old, and she lived there until she moved to Paris after her post-secondary graduation. There, she met her husband, and the two moved to the United Kingdom after that to start a family.
The family realized Marisa's son Findlay wouldn't qualify for Canadian citizenship after she started filling out the paperwork.
"He would have been sixth-generation Canadian, and that's all robbed now," Sutherland-Brown said.
During the filibuster, Conservative members have also put forward other potential amendments far outside the scope of the original bill, including mandating in-person citizenship ceremonies, which have taken up hours of debate before being shot down by Liberal and NDP members.
The committee has extended meetings and scheduled extra time to debate the bill, but NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said it may not be enough to beat the filibuster.
"If this continues to carry on the way in which it has, (then) there is that real possibility that the bill would be reported back to the House without us completing the work," Kwan said.
"I'm still somewhat hopeful -- I don't know why -- that this will still manage to make it to the House with the necessary amendments. I'm holding on to that shred of hope."
If the amendments make it through committee, the expanded bill would still need to clear the House of Commons and the Senate before families like Fessler's and Sutherland-Brown's would be able to make their case to pass on their citizenship.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.