ironstone Posted January 21, 2012 Report Posted January 21, 2012 According to the link in my post above, in the 2006 census, 863,000 "ordinary Canadians" reported dual citizenship. The main thing that bothers me about dual citizenship are the citizens of convenience that live abroad and only return to Canada for the benefits like medical care to name one.I think of all the "Canadians"living in Lebanon as one particularly bad example. Quote "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it." Thomas Sowell
capricorn Posted January 21, 2012 Report Posted January 21, 2012 Again, I'm not talking about folks like us, chewing and nitpicking the details and legalities. I'm talking about voters!. Guyser and others have said that it won't make a difference. Others disagree. It is impossible to solve opinions. As I said, the premise would need to be tested in the real world. Agreed. Recent history can be instructive. If Thomas Mulcair wins the NDP leadership, he will be the third consecutive Leader of the Opposition to have his commitment to Canada questioned.His sin: holding dual citizenship while seeking office. Stéphane Dion was guilty of the same. Michael Ignatieff, meanwhile, had the gall to spend much of his career outside of Canada, including a brief stint as a professor — and you have to spit this out for full effect — at Harvard. For his part, Mulcair says that he took out French citizenship two decades ago, after being separated from his wife and children — all dual citizens — at a checkpoint in Madrid. “It sent a shiver down my spine not to have the same travel documents as my kids and my wife,” he said on Tuesday. Then why not all travel on Canadian passports? The question did not come up this week, but rest assured that it will. Because even though his NDP opponents have largely laid off the issue so far, the matter of Mulcair’s dual loyalties — and dual loyalties are, by definition, what dual citizenship entails — is not going anywhere. --- None of this is to say that history is set to repeat itself. Mulcair has yet to win the NDP leadership, and even if he does, he can renounce his French connection with the stroke of a pen. Ignatieff’s career outside of Canada was a central feature of his life’s story, and Stéphane Dion did not lose because of his dual citizenship. Yet Mulcair’s multiple allegiances could still make a difference for some voters. His supporters may sneer at what their candidate has called “profoundly parochial and insular thinking,” but that does not change the fact that many Canadians will feel a quiet queasiness about a would-be Prime Minister holding two passports. http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/01/21/adam-goldenberg-two-passports-one-problem/ Quote "We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he never runs." Will Rogers
cybercoma Posted January 21, 2012 Report Posted January 21, 2012 The main thing that bothers me about dual citizenship are the citizens of convenience that live abroad and only return to Canada for the benefits like medical care to name one.I think of all the "Canadians"living in Lebanon as one particularly bad example. Good thing they can't do that in nearly every province then, eh? Quote
capricorn Posted January 21, 2012 Report Posted January 21, 2012 The main thing that bothers me about dual citizenship are the citizens of convenience that live abroad and only return to Canada for the benefits like medical care to name one.I think of all the "Canadians"living in Lebanon as one particularly bad example. And the debate about Mulcair's dual citizenship serves to remind Canadians of the Lebanon experience and related events. Quote "We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he never runs." Will Rogers
AusKanada Posted February 4, 2012 Report Posted February 4, 2012 The hilarious part of this debate is not really whether we should be against Mulcair for having dual citizenship or not, I think it's a non-issue. What is however super hilarious is that Jack Layton sort of crucified Dion about HIS French citizenship... so the NDP sort of prove that they can go against Layton. Or that they can frankly re-write history as their pundits do on CBC's Power and Politics and elsewhere. Quote
mentalfloss Posted February 5, 2012 Report Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) The main thing that bothers me about dual citizenship are the citizens of convenience that live abroad and only return to Canada for the benefits like medical care to name one.I think of all the "Canadians"living in Lebanon as one particularly bad example. Doesn't work unless you become a permanent resident - which means you need to be in the country at least 2 out of the last 5 years. Immigration will know if you spend more time abroad or you plan to come back for 'convenience'. Edited February 5, 2012 by mentalfloss Quote
YEGmann Posted February 5, 2012 Report Posted February 5, 2012 Immigration will know if you spend more time abroad or you plan to come back for 'convenience'. Right now there is no mechanism for Immigration Canada to know whether a person left Canada. Quote
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