S-245 – An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians) – allows people born abroad who have lost their citizenship get it back.
Citizenship Act
S-245 gives citizenship to people who had lost it due to an old part of the Citizenship Act that was repealed in 2008. At the time if you were born outside of Canada and one of your parents is Canadian, you risked losing your citizenship when you turn 28. To avoid this you’d need to either apply to keep it, register as a citizen, and live in Canada for at least one year leading up to your application. If you didn’t do this you’d lose your citizenship. With this repealed people born abroad with a Canadian parent are automatically citizens.
S-245 makes it so anyone that lost their citizenship from having their application denied are now considered citizens, same thing for anyone who didn’t submit an application.
Progress
S-245 has gone through the Senate and is currently working its way through the House. It passed its Second Reading vote with everyone voting in favour and has just come back from committee. It will be up for its Third Reading soon!
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