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Kevin Klein: Canada hands out citizenship like candy

Risks turning something that once carried weight into something that is handed out with little regard for connection, commitment, or contribution

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You have to be kidding. That is the only reaction many Canadians will have when they fully understand what Ottawa has done to our citizenship laws. This is not a technical adjustment buried in legislation. It is a fundamental shift in what it means to be Canadian, and it risks turning something that once carried weight into something that is handed out with little regard for connection, commitment, or contribution.

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Bill C-3, passed into law last December, removes the long-standing limit on how citizenship is passed down to children born abroad. For years, Canada restricted citizenship by descent to one generation after a family left the country. That rule was not arbitrary. It was grounded in common sense. It ensured that citizenship remained tied to people with a real, ongoing relationship to Canada. Now, that guardrail is gone, and citizenship can be passed down across multiple generations, even when families have not lived here for decades.

Kevin Klein: Canada hands out citizenship like candy Back to video

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