First reading, October 31, 2002

SUMMARY

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(c) a new judicial process to revoke the citizenship of a person who has acquired, retained, renounced or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances;

(d) new authority for the Minister and the Solicitor General of Canada to sign a certificate that commences a proceeding - in which security information may be used - to revoke the citizenship of a person who has acquired or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances;

(e) new authority for the Minister to annul the citizenship of people who obtained their citizenship by using a false identity or who were subject to prohibitions;

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(l) a modern citizenship oath.

PART 2

LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP

16.(1) The Minister may commence an action in the Federal Court for a declaration that a person has acquired, retained, renounced or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.

16.(2) A judgment declaring that a person has so acquired, retained, renounced or resumed citizenship has the effect of revoking their citizenship or renunciation of citizenship.

16.(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be considered to have acquired or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances if the person became a permanent resident by those means and, because of obtaining that status, they subsequently acquired or resumed citizenship.

16.(4) The Minister may, in the originating document that commences an action under subsection 16(1), request also that the person be declared inadmissible on security grounds, on grounds of violating human or international rights or on grounds of organized criminality under, respectively, subsection 34(1), paragraph 35(1)(a) or (b) and subsection 37(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

16.(5) A judgment declaring the person to be so inadmissible is a removal order against the person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that is in force when the judgment is made, without the necessity of holding or continuing an examination or an admissibility hearing.

16.(6) In a proceeding before the court under this section, the court shall

16.(6)(a) first hear and decide all matters related to the declaration requested under subsection 16(1); and

16.(6)(b) if it decides to grant the declaration referred to in subsection 16(2), then hear and decide all matters related to the declaration requested under subsection 16(4), if applicable, and in this regard

16.(6)(b)(i) shall take into account the evidence already admitted - and consider as conclusive any finding of fact already made - in relation to the declaration requested under subsection 16(1), and

16.(6)(b)(ii) with respect to any additional evidence, is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence and may receive and base a decision on any evidence adduced in the proceedings that it considers credible or trustworthy in the circumstances.

17.(1) … definitions … "information" [secrecy] … "judge"

17.(2) The Minister and the Solicitor General of Canada may sign and refer to the Federal Court for determination under subsection 17(5) a certificate stating that, based on information,

17.(2)(a) it is their opinion that a person has acquired or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances; and

17.(2)(b) the person would, if they were not a citizen, be inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act on security grounds, on grounds of violating human or international rights or on grounds of organized criminality.

17.(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be considered to have acquired or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances if the person became a permanent resident by those means and, because of obtaining that status, the person subsequently acquired or resumed citizenship.

17.(4) The following provisions govern the determination:

17.(4)(a) the judge shall hear the matter;

17.(4)(b) the judge shall ensure the confidentiality of the information on which the certificate is based and of any other evidence that may be provided to the judge if, in the judge's opinion, its disclosure would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person;

17.(4)(c) the judge shall deal with all matters as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and considerations of fairness and natural justice permit;

17.(4)(d) the judge shall examine the information and any other evidence in private within seven days after the referral of the certificate for determination;

17.(4)(e) on each request of the Minister or the Solicitor General of Canada made at any time during the proceedings, the judge shall hear all or part of the information or evidence in the absence of the person named in the certificate and their counsel if, in the judge's opinion, its disclosure would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person;

17.(4)(f) the information or evidence described in paragraph 17(4)(e) shall be returned to the Minister and the Solicitor General of Canada and shall not be considered by the judge in making the determination under subsection 17(5) if the matter is withdrawn, if the judge determines that the information or evidence is not relevant or if the judge determines that it is relevant but should be included in the summary;

17.(4)(g) the information or evidence described in paragraph 17(4)(e) shall not be included in the summary but may be considered by the judge in making the determination under subsection 17(5) if the judge determines that the information or evidence is relevant but that its disclosure would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person;

17(4)(h) the judge shall provide the person named in the certificate with a summary of the information or evidence that enables them to be as fully informed as possible of the circumstances giving rise to the certificate, but that does not include anything that in the opinion of the judge would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person if disclosed;

17.(4)(i) the judge shall provide the person named in the certificate with an opportunity to be heard on matters relevant to the determination; and

17.(4)(j) the judge may receive into evidence anything that, in the opinion of the judge, is appropriate, even if it is inadmissible in a court of law, and may base the decision on that evidence.

17.(5) The judge shall, on the basis of the information and evidence available, determine

17.(5)(a) whether, on the balance of probabilities the person named in the certificate has acquired or resumed citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances; and

17.(5)(b) if the judge determines that the person has so acquired or resumed citizenship, whether the certificate is reasonable with respect to the matters referred to in paragraph 17(2)(b).

17.(6) A determination under paragraph 17(5)(a) that a person has so acquired or resumed citizenship has the effect of revoking the citizenship of the person.

17.(7) The judge shall quash the certificate if the judge does not make the determination referred to in subsection 17(6).

17.(8) A determination under paragraph 17(5)(b) that the certificate is reasonable with respect to the matters referred to in paragraph 17(2)(a) is a removal order against the person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act effective when the determination is made, without the necessity of holding or continuing an examination or an admissibility hearing.

17.(9) A determination under subsection 17(5) is final and may not be appealed or judicially reviewed.

18.(1) If the Minister is satisfied that a person has, after the coming into force of this section acquired, retained, renounced or resumed citizenship in contravention of section 28 or by using a false identity, the Minister may, by order, declare that the acquisition, retention, renunciation or resumption of citizenship is void.

18.(2) The Minister shall not make an order unless the Minister, at least 30 days before making it, notifies the person who is to be the subject of the order.

18.(3) The notice must include a summary of the grounds for the proposed order and state that the person may, within 30 days after the day on which it was sent, make written representations to the Minister.

18.(4) The Minister shall, without delay, inform the person who is the subject of the order that the order has been made and advise them of their right to apply for judicial review under section 18.1 of the Federal Court Act.

18.(5) The Minister may not make an order under subsection 18(1) more than five years after the day on which the citizenship was acquired after the application under section 14 to retain citizenship was received or after the citizenship was renounced or resumed, as the case may be.

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SCHEDULE
(Section 34)

OATH OF CITIZENSHIP
From this day forward, I pledge my loyalty and allegiance to Canada and Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada. I promise to respect our country's rights and freedoms, to uphold our democratic values, to faithfully observe our laws and fulfil my duties and obligations as a Canadian citizen.