Welcome to the Link, with Lynn Desjardins and Marc Montgomery
ListenA section of a new proposed law, Bill C-24 would allow the federal government to strip Canadian citizenship from citizens born in Canada, if they are eligible or qualify for dual citizenship, and deport them.
Currently, someone may only be stripped of Canadian citizenship if it was obtained through false representation. If the federal bill is passed, naturalized citizens and those born in Canada but eligible to claim citizenship in another country could also lose their citizenship, in case of treason, terrorism or espionage.
A constitutional lawyer seeks to oppose the section in court. “My application is simply restricted to the narrow issue of the untouchability of the status of a Canadian-born citizen,” says Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati. “A lot of Canadian-born citizens don’t realize that by virtue of their parents or grand-parents or great-grand-parents’ country and nationality they could also be nationals of that country.”
Canada’s Immigration Minister Chris Alexander defended the government’s position question period in the House of Commons, by stating that the public thinks the proposal is “absolutely legitimate”.
Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati talks to RCI’s Gilda Salomone about the proposed change to Canada’s Citizenship law that would allow the government to revoke citizenship of dual nationals.
The World Cup of football is the most watched sporting event on TV’s around the globe.
This year the event is being held in Brazil where football, or soccer as it’s known in North America, is universally, and passionately followed.
But staging such a huge international sporting event costs the host country the equivalent of billions of dollars, and in spite of their love of the game, many Brazilians are angry over the expense which they say should be better used to improve on social issues, like housing, education, health care and jobs, while the organizing body, in this case FIFA, reaps vast profits..
While there have always been protests as such major events, this time around it seems even greater.
Vijay Setlur is a sports marketing instructor at the Schulich School of Business at Toronto’s York University, he talks about some of these issues and their further implications for future international sporting events.
The right to assemble and protest is fundamental and guaranteed in the Canadian constitution.
However, the government apparently had begun collecting information and even surveillance on all kinds of demonstrations, including fund-raising events and prayer ceremonies.
Citizens and opposition parties want to know why the current government is collecting information on all demonstrations.
Brent Patterson of the Council of Canadians, also worries about reports that a special unit of the national police, the RCMP, was mandated to gather information on protests by aboriginal groups, and that the National Energy Board co-ordinated the gathering of information on opponents of energy projects such as oil sands development and fracking
Patterson finds it outrageous that the RCMP appears to be sharing information it gathers with industry.
For more, Lynn spoke with Brent Patterson.
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