UN cast Canada's laws in same light as Vietnam, Zimbabwe

[bjre]

'Lost Canadians' leads UN to cast Canada's laws in same light as Vietnam, Zimbabwe

Katie Derosa, THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - The failure to close a legislative loophole that has seen seventh-generation Canadians stripped of their citizenship has prompted the United Nations to lump Canada's citizenship record in with countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

A special report in the UN Refugee Agency's magazine Refugees, titled The Strange Hidden World of the Stateless, singles Canada out for its treatment of the so-called Lost Canadians.

.....

The law also affects border babies and war brides and their children if they failed to register their citizenship before their 24th birthday.

The report was released last month, ahead of the federal government's citizenship week celebration last week.

In a written statement, Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the government sympathizes with those who lost their citizenship "due to outdated laws that have been on the books for many years."

.....

Canada is "now listed in the lowest of the low in countries that have made people stateless," he said.

"It's so appalling that Canada would make a list of the worst of the world," he said. "These are not the countries you want to compare your human rights records to."

....

University of Victoria demographer Barry Edmonston, who has also lost his citizenship in a similar manner, has estimated at least 250,000 Canadians are at risk of losing their citizenship.

http://www.freedominion.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1078933

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3b672e98-c5d0-4cde-b523-1fb5de40ef99

[jbg]

This is typical U.N. rot. There is no way that problems of people who slip between the cracks of immigrations laws rise to the level of the problems of the average citizens of such benighted lands as Vietnam or Zimbabwe. This is the logic that puts Libya on the U.N.'s Human Rights Counsel.

[RNG]

I would so like Canada to get out of the corrupt and disgusting UN. China and Iran on the Human Rights Council? Come on?

[August1991]

The UN is an anachronism and the Ottawa Citizen article in the OP demonstrates why.

The better question is how to define the extent of the Canadian State. Can the Canadian federal government prosecute someone who commits an offense in Thailand? Is the Canadian government obliged to pay a pension to a resident of Cuba? Can the Canadian government tax someone working in France? If an American comes to Canada, should the Canadian government pay for health care?

We speak of citizenship but what happens when people can choose their citizenship the way that they choose credit cards. (I have the Amex Black Card!)

And when people can choose their citizenship, what is the State?

Edited June 3, 2011 by August1991

[Keepitsimple]

Ditto to all the above. The UN is a joke......has been for ages.

[Shwa]

http://www.freedominion.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1078933

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3b672e98-c5d0-4cde-b523-1fb5de40ef99

Except for those Lebanese-Canadian citizens that were rescued when the shit hit the fan in Lebanon a few years ago.

$94M for Lebanon rescue, but Canadian evacuee grateful

[Michael Hardner]

Ditto to all the above. The UN is a joke......has been for ages.

And except for the thousands of lives saved by relief efforts and programs in the poorest part of the world.

[RNG]

Except for those Lebanese-Canadian citizens that were rescued when the shit hit the fan in Lebanon a few years ago.

$94M for Lebanon rescue, but Canadian evacuee grateful

I read a follow-up story about 6 months later which claimed a bunch of the people the Canadian government spent my money to "rescue" went back when things settled down. That did get my goat, to use an non-vulgar expression my dad liked.

[bjre]

I read a follow-up story about 6 months later which claimed a bunch of the people the Canadian government spent my money to "rescue" went back when things settled down. That did get my goat, to use an non-vulgar expression my dad liked.

Why so many Canadians love to live in Lebanon? Isn't Canada a place that have better "freedom", "human right", and "democracy"?

[RNG]

Why so many Canadians love to live in Lebanon? Isn't Canada a place that have better "freedom", "human right", and "democracy"?

I read somewhere that they love to get dual citizenship, live in their homeland, but then if they or a relative get badly ill or injured, they can come here for free health-care. And when they get old, they can come here for the pogy.

[bush_cheney2004]

And except for the thousands of lives saved by relief efforts and programs in the poorest part of the world.

No...it's still a joke. UN has killed more than it ever saved!

[bjre]

I think actually you mean US.

Edited June 3, 2011 by bjre

[bjre]

I read somewhere that they love to get dual citizenship, live in their homeland, but then if they or a relative get badly ill or injured, they can come here for free health-care. And when they get old, they can come here for the pogy.

Only after take the dual citizenship, they still choose a place other than the "Freedom", "Democracy" place with "Human rights".

[RNG]

Only after take the dual citizenship, they still choose a place other than the "Freedom", "Democracy" place with "Human rights".

They've lived under that type of system all their lives. They are just barely cunning enough to be able to scam our system, but feel more comfortable at home, till they need something. It's a total joke, one that costs you and me a lot of money.

[bjre]

They've lived under that type of system all their lives. They are just barely cunning enough to be able to scam our system, but feel more comfortable at home, till they need something. It's a total joke, one that costs you and me a lot of money.

So you understand there are many people thinks there are something more important than western style of "human rights", "freedom", and "democracy", and they feel more comfortable without western style of those things. So why need western powers promote their style of system and force others accept their system with bombs?

I definitely don't like to pay for that too.

I think if the politician don't pretend Canada has a better human rights situation, there won't be so many such people with due-citizenship.

[RNG]

So you understand there are many people thinks there are something more important than western style of "human rights", "freedom", and "democracy", and they feel more comfortable without western style of those things. So why need western powers promote their style of system and force others accept their system with bombs?

I definitely don't like to pay for that too.

I think if the politician don't pretend Canada has a better human rights situation, there won't be so many such people with due-citizenship.

I think the US is screwing up, big time, trying to make Iraq and Afghanistan democracies. It takes a tradition of respecting those values. Same with the so-called Arab spring. No way. Africa is the perfect example.

Stopping, or at least slowing down Al Qeada was the right thing to try, but just look at Karzie et al. What a joke.

[bush_cheney2004]

I think the US is screwing up, big time, trying to make Iraq and Afghanistan democracies. It takes a tradition of respecting those values. Same with the so-called Arab spring. No way. Africa is the perfect example.

That's what they said about Imperial Japan too.

Stopping, or at least slowing down Al Qeada was the right thing to try, but just look at Karzie et al. What a joke.

So why is Canada still "joking" there?

[bjre]

I think the US is screwing up, big time, trying to make Iraq and Afghanistan democracies. It takes a tradition of respecting those values. Same with the so-called Arab spring. No way. Africa is the perfect example.

Stopping, or at least slowing down Al Qeada was the right thing to try, but just look at Karzie et al. What a joke.

The terrorists was supported and trained by CIA for resist Soviet Union before they change their target to US later.

And the Arab spring is made by CIA with facebook and twitter, it is not people there want.

[bush_cheney2004]

The terrorists was supported and trained by CIA for resist Soviet Union before they change their target to US later.

And the Arab spring is made by CIA with facebook and twitter, it is not people there want.

Yep...same as Chinese Nationalists during WW2. They still love America!

[RNG]

That's what they said about Imperial Japan too.

So why is Canada still "joking" there?

We made a limited time commitment to help our main ally, the US. It's like having an asshole brother. He may be sort of out of it, but he's your brother so you support him.

[jacee]

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3b672e98-c5d0-4cde-b523-1fb5de40ef99

The story indicates that the Harper government intends to modify/make law to solve this nasty loophole that has taken citizenship away from Canadians, obviously recognizing that it is a problem. On that particular international indicator of 'human rights', Canada is out of whack because of this 'oversight'.

Given the government's response, I'm not sure why posters here seem to be defending the status quo. Would we really deny citizenship to the son of a wwll vet, born where his father was stationed and then living with him in Canada as a child? It seems that the problem is simply that he and thousands of others were not told that they had to register before their 24th birthday. I would think there are solutions here and if Canada has to be embarrassed into action, that's better than continuing to violate the rights of several hundred thousand people who are rightfully Canadians.

It's not like Canada is always magically 'the nicest place in the world': It takes work and vigilance to make sure peoples' rights are upheld, and on this particular issue, Canada screwed up and it needs to be corrected.

[bush_cheney2004]

We made a limited time commitment to help our main ally, the US. It's like having an asshole brother. He may be sort of out of it, but he's your brother so you support him.

Nope....the United States is not your "brother". Canada is a charter member of NATO and the UN, which sanctioned the international action(s) in Afghanistan. The USA's "main ally" is the United Kingdom.

Edited June 4, 2011 by bush_cheney2004

[RNG]

Nope....the United States is not your "brother". Canada is a charter member of NATO and the UN, which sanctioned the international action(s) in Afghanistan. The USA's "main ally" is the United Kingdom.

The USA's main ally may be the UK, but our main ally is you guys. We are charter members of NATO. The UN stuff sucks. And I don't think us going into Afghanistan had anything to do with the UN.

[bush_cheney2004]

The USA's main ally may be the UK, but our main ally is you guys. We are charter members of NATO. The UN stuff sucks. And I don't think us going into Afghanistan had anything to do with the UN.

Sorry, but the UN was onboard through Article 51, and Resolutions 1368, 1378, 1386 and 1510 (i.e. ISAF expansion outside Kabul).

[August1991]

Except for those Lebanese-Canadian citizens that were rescued when the shit hit the fan in Lebanon a few years ago.

So people abroad are now Canadian citizens. But then, Canadian law extends also to citizens abroad.

The federal tax form now requires a declaration of worldwide income and assets. US citizens must file each year regardless of their residency, wherever they live. I suspect that Canadian citizens will soon have to do the same.

IOW, the State will no longer be a question of geography. It is now a question of status or membership.