BILL C-18 (First Reading)

	2nd Session, 37th Parliament, 51 Elizabeth II, 2002
	House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-18
	An Act respecting Canadian citizenship
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	SHORT TITLE
Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Citizenship of Canada Act.
	INTERPRETATION
Definitions	2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.
``certificate of citizenship'' « certificat de citoyenneté »	``certificate of citizenship'' means a certificate of citizenship issued under an Act of Parliament on or after January 1, 1947.
``certificate of naturaliza- tion'' « certificat de naturalisation »	``certificate of naturalization'' means a certificate of naturalization issued under any Act in force in Canada at any time before January 1, 1947.
``certificate of renunciation'' « certificat de répudiation »	``certificate of renunciation'' means a certificate of renunciation issued under an Act of Parliament on or after February 15, 1977.
``citizen'' « citoyen »	``citizen'' means a Canadian citizen.
``citizenship'' « citoyenneté »	``citizenship'' means Canadian citizenship.
``citizenship official'' « fonctionnair e de la citoyenneté »	``citizenship official'' means a Citizenship Commissioner, the Registrar of Citizenship and any other person to whom the Minister delegates powers, duties or functions under this Act.
``common-la w partner'' « conjoint de fait »	``common-law partner'', in relation to an individual, means a person who is cohabiting with the individual in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada that the Governor in Council designates as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
``minor'' « mineur »	``minor'' means a person who is less than 18 years of age.
``permanent resident'' « résident permanent »	``permanent resident'' has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
``prior legislation'' « législation antérieure »	``prior legislation'' means any law about naturalization or citizenship in force in Canada at any time before the coming into force of this section.
Interpretation	(2) For the purposes of this Act,
	(a) a person born on a Canadian ship, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, or on a Canadian aircraft, as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Aeronautics Act, is deemed to be born in Canada;
	(b) a person who is registered as an Indian under the Indian Act and who is not a citizen is deemed to be a permanent resident on their registration; and
	(c) a person resides in Canada if they are physically present in Canada, and are not, under an enactment in force in Canada,
	(i) subject to a conditional sentence order or a probation order, detained in custody or confined under an order of a court that is exercising jurisdiction in relation to an offence with which the person has been charged, or
	(ii) an offender or a person who is under long-term supervision within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act or a prisoner within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Prisons and Reformatories Act.
	PURPOSE
Purpose	3. The purpose of this Act is
	(a) to define who is a citizen and how citizenship may be acquired;
	(b) to encourage the acquisition of citizenship by all who qualify;
	(c) to protect the integrity of citizenship;
	(d) to reaffirm that all citizens, no matter how they became citizens, have the same status;
	(e) to require strong attachment to Canada for the acquisition of citizenship;
	(f) to heighten the awareness of citizens that the acquisition of citizenship is a significant event worthy of celebration; and
	(g) to promote respect for the principles and values underlying a free and democratic society.
	PART 1
	THE RIGHT TO CITIZENSHIP
	Citizens of Canada
Persons who are citizens	4. A person is a citizen if the person was a citizen immediately before the coming into force of this section or acquires citizenship in accordance with this Act.
	Citizenship at Birth
Acquisition at birth	5. (1) A person acquires citizenship at birth if, after the coming into force of this section,
	(a) the person is born in Canada; or
	(b) the person is born outside Canada of a parent who is a citizen at the time of the birth.
Exception	(2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to a person if, at the time of their birth, neither of their parents is a citizen or a permanent resident and one of the parents is
	(a) a diplomatic or consular officer or other representative or employee in Canada of a foreign government;
	(b) an employee in the service of a person referred to in paragraph (a); or
	(c) an officer or employee in Canada of a specialized agency of the United Nations or an officer or employee in Canada of any other international organization to whom there are granted, by or under any Act of Parliament, diplomatic privileges and immunities certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to be equivalent to those granted to persons referred to in paragraph (a).
Exception	(3) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a person if their parent's citizenship was acquired by being born, outside Canada, of a father or mother whose own citizenship was acquired as a result of being born after February 14, 1977, outside Canada.
Deserted child	(4) If a person who appears to be less than seven years of age is found in Canada as a deserted child, they are deemed to be a person described in paragraph (1)(a), unless, within seven years after the finding, it is proved that the person was not born in Canada.
Child born after death of parent	(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) and subsection (2), if a child is born after the death of one of its parents who was a citizen immediately before his or her death, the child is deemed to have been born immediately before the death of that parent.
	Citizenship After Grant
General principle	6. A person in respect of whom the Minister makes a grant of citizenship acquires citizenship
	(a) in the case of a person referred to in section 9, 11 or 20 or a person who is less than 14 years of age, on the making of the grant; and
	(b) in any other case, on taking the oath of citizenship.
Adults	7. (1) The Minister shall, on application, grant citizenship to a person who
	(a) is at least 18 years of age;
	(b) is a permanent resident and has, during the six years immediately before applying for citizenship, resided in Canada for at least 1,095 days, calculated in the following manner, namely,
	(i) one day for every day during which the person has resided in Canada as a permanent resident, and
	(ii) one half of a day, up to a maximum of 365 days, for every day that the person has resided in Canada as a protected person or a temporary resident under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
	(c) has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada; and
	(d) has an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.
Waiver on compassionat e grounds	(2) If the Minister believes that there are compassionate grounds for doing so, the Minister may waive
	(a) in the case of any person, the requirements of paragraph (1)(c) or (d);
	(b) in the case of a minor, the requirement
	(i) respecting age set out in paragraph (1)(a),
	(ii) respecting length of residence in Canada set out in paragraph (1)(b), or
	(iii) respecting the taking of the oath of citizenship; and
	(c) in the case of any person who is prevented from understanding the significance of taking the oath of citizenship by reason of a mental disability, the requirement to take the oath.
Treated as present in Canada	(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a day on which an applicant for citizenship was a permanent resident residing with their spouse or common-law partner who was a citizen engaged, other than as a locally engaged person, for service or employment outside Canada in or with the Canadian Forces or the public service of Canada or of a province is to be treated as a day on which the applicant was physically present in Canada.
Minors	8. The Minister shall, on application, grant citizenship to a permanent resident who is a minor at the time of the application and is the child of a citizen.
Adoptees	9. (1) The Minister shall, on application, grant citizenship to a person who, after February 14, 1977, was adopted by a citizen while the person was a minor child and whose adoption
	(a) was in the best interests of the child;
	(b) created a genuine relationship of parent and child;
	(c) was in accordance with the laws of the place where the adoption took place and the laws of the country of residence of the adopting citizen; and
	(d) was not intended to circumvent the requirements under any enactment for admission to Canada or citizenship.
Persons adopted as adults	(2) The Minister shall, on application, grant citizenship to a person who, after February 14, 1977, was adopted by a citizen while the person was 18 years of age or older if
	(a) the adoptive parent stood in the place of a parent in relation to the person before the person attained the age of 18 years; and
	(b) the adoption meets the criteria set out in paragraphs (1)(b) to (d).
Direction by Governor in Council	10. In order to alleviate a situation of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada, the Governor in Council may, after being informed by the Minister of the situation or the services, direct the Minister to grant citizenship, without delay, to any person.
Statelessness - bloodline connection	11. The Minister shall, on application, grant citizenship to a person who
	(a) is born outside Canada after the coming into force of this section;
	(b) has a birth parent who was a citizen at the time of the birth;
	(c) is less than 28 years of age;
	(d) has resided in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the 6 years immediately before applying for citizenship;
	(e) has always been stateless; and
	(f) has not been convicted of an offence against national security.