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Mennonite Central Committee Canada is asking the federal government to keep the door open for Mennonites from Latin America with claims to Canadian citizenship.
The government has proposed a new Citizenship of Canada Act that restricts the eligibility of people born abroad of Canadian parents.
"It would close a door that has allowed the return of several hundred Kanadier Mennonites every year over the past two decades," said William Janzen, director of MCC's Ottawa office.
Kanadier Mennonites are the descendants of Canadians who moved to Latin America in the 1920s, 40s and 60s. A number have become extremely poor, and MCC tries to assist those in the colonies as well as those returning to Canada.
While the vast majority of the 100,000 Kanadier Mennonites in Latin America are not eligible for Canadian citizenship, some are, noted Janzen. This new law would make an additional category ineligible--those born abroad of a Canadian parent before February 15, 1977 who do not yet have their certificates, and their subsequently born children. Missionary children would be similarly affected.
"MCC is not asking that people be allowed to remain Canadian citizens indefinitely if they do not want to live in Canada," said Janzen. "But MCC would like to have the door kept open for those who come, often because of extreme hardship."
On March 11, Janzen appeared before the Parliamentary Committee studying the bill together with Henry Bergen, who works with MCC in Aylmer, Ont., and who lived in Mexico for 44 years. The meeting lasted 90 minutes, and most Members of Parliament were sympathetic to the suggestion. However, that does not guarantee that the proposed bill will be changed, said Janzen.
Janzen is continuing discussions with the appropriate officials. He also expressed concern to the Parliamentary Committee about the proposed law's broader provisions for the Minister of Immigration to bar people coming as refugees from gaining citizenship.
Such refusals could be based not only on grounds of national security but of public interest. If such people were barred from citizenship, noted Janzen, they would not lose their permanent resident status in Canada. The proposed law also broadens the power to revoke the citizenship of people found to have obtained it by improper means.
Janzen also questioned the use of the words "to defend" in the phrase "to defend our democratic values" in the proposed Citizenship oath. These words are not in the existing oath. Instead, he suggested "to uphold" would have better connotations, not only for conscientious objectors but for people generally.--MCC Canada release
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