Canada to give citizenship rights to ‘lost Canadians’ and descendants

May 23, 2024 | Canadian News, Headlines, News

By Ankur Gupta

Immigration Minister Marc Miller tabled the Citizenship Bill that will extend citizenship to “lost Canadians” and their descendants.

“Lost Canadians” are those who lost or never acquired citizenship due to certain outdated provisions of former citizenship legislation. Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024), would restore citizenship to them.

The amendments in 2009 added the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent, which means a Canadian citizen can pass on citizenship to a child born outside the country if the parent was either born in Canada or naturalized before the birth of the child.

“The proposed legislation will extend citizenship by descent beyond the first generation in a way that is inclusive and upholds the value of our citizens,” Miller said while speaking at Parliament Hill today.

This legislation would automatically confer Canadian citizenship to persons born abroad to a Canadian parent who is also born abroad.

It will also extend access to a direct grant of citizenship to children born abroad and adopted by a Canadian parent beyond the first generation.

“Under the new legislation, children born abroad to a Canadian citizen, who was also born outside Canada, will be a Canadian citizen from birth if their parent can demonstrate they have a substantial connection to Canada as long as a Canadian parent who was born outside of Canada accumulates three years spent in Canada before the birth of the child,” Miller said.

“The current rules generally restrict citizenship by descent to the first generation, excluding some people who have a genuine connection to Canada,” he said.

“This has unacceptable consequences for families and impacts life choices, such as where individuals may choose to live, work, study, or even where to have children and raise a family,” he said.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice, ruled on Dec. 19, 2023, that the first-generation limit is unconstitutional. The Court gave the federal government six months, until June 19, 2024, to amend the act.

Miller also targeted the Conservatives as the 2009 amendment was adopted by the Stephen Harper government.

He said Canadians should not trust them.

“This is an example of Conservatives having taken away Canadians’ rights and something they hold most dear to them in their citizenship,” he said. “So when these conservatives say nothing to fear, Canadians need to take note of what they’ve actually done in the past.”

New Democratic Party’s (NDP) immigration critic Jenny Kwan said she was optimistic the bill addresses the issues of lost Canadians so they don’t have to be second-class citizens.

“It was the Conservatives that stripped children of Canadian parents the right to pass on their citizenship automatically to their children as a result of that the Conservatives have created second-class citizens in Canada,” Kwan said.

She said the Conservatives should support this bill.

“If the Conservatives say they support the community, then I would ask them not to obstruct the progress of this bill. Pass this bill so that (it) can become law,” Kwan said.

 

OPINION: Feds progressive free prescription contraceptives

Apr 4, 2024 | OP-ED, Opinion

By Ankur Gupta

Canada said it will be making contraceptives free for women.

This move by the government will empower women and allow them to make informed decisions without thinking of financial barriers.

The initiative will be a part of the upcoming Budget 2024, which will be presented in the House of Commons on April 16.

This will include intrauterine devices (IUDs), contraceptive pills, the day-after pill, hormonal implants, contraceptive injections and emergency contraceptives.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X and announced contraceptives will become free in Canada on March 30.

“Women should be free to choose the contraceptives they need without cost getting in the way,” he said.

Universal access to contraceptives for women is a part of the first phase of the National Pharmacare program.

The cost has always played an important role for many when choosing a contraceptive. Effectiveness and side effects are important but take a back seat when the cost factor kicks in.

It is stressful for women to know that the most effective contraceptives are expensive.

Health Canada in a report in February 2024, said, an IUD, which is 99 per cent effective, may cost as much as $500, making it unaffordable for many, particularly young girls.

Oral contraceptives cost about $300 a year and have a typical use failure rate of nine per cent compared to 0.20 per cent for IUDs, Health Canada said.

A report by the Canadian Paediatric Society said Canadian contraceptive care providers have identified cost as the single most important barrier to accessing contraceptives.

Finance should never be a barrier when it comes to health and safety and so the step taken by the Federal government is welcomed.

Moreover, giving free contraceptives is the best way to increase their use and hence reduce unintended pregnancies.

According to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide, there were 46 per cent unintended pregnancies in Canada from 2015 to 2019.

Of these unintended pregnancies, 37 per cent ended in abortions. The direct cost that is associated with unintended pregnancies in Canada is over $320 million.

On the other hand, the Canadian Medical Association Journal in its report had estimated the cost of giving hormonal contraceptives across Canada would be $157 million.

The step by the government not only promotes reproductive freedom for women, it will lead to improved well-being of women, help women make better family planning decisions and give them development opportunities.

Imagine not having to worry about the cost of contraceptives and being able to choose the best one for yourself based on the effectiveness, side effects, maintenance and lifestyle.

As a woman, I feel empowered knowing I do not need to worry about the cost of contraceptives.

Access to free contraceptives should be a basic human right, as is the right to choose whether or not to reproduce.

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Gujarat polls: Campaign for final phase ends; PM Modi, Shah among prominent voters

By Ankur Gupta | Updated: Dec 03, 2022 21:17 IST

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], December 3 (ANI): Campaigning for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections, on December 5, ended on Saturday evening.Polling in the second and final phase will be conducted for 93 Assembly constituencies across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat.The 93 poll-bound seats in the second phase are spread across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravali, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Chhota Udaipur districts.Among the key constituencies in the final phase are Ghatlodia, which will be determine the poll fate of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel; Viramgam where Patidar leader Hardik Patel will contest as a BJP candidate, and Gandhinagar South where the saffron party has fielded Alpesh Thakor.Leader of Opposition, Congress' Sukhram Rathava, will contest from Chhota Udaipur, while Lakhabhai Bharwad, Jignesh Mevani and Amee Yajnik are some other prominent Congress names from Viramgam, Vadgam and Ghatlodia seats.From the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharat Vakhala from Devgadhbaria, Bheema Chaudhary from Deodar, Dolat Patel from Gandhinagar South, Kunwarji Thakor from Viramgam and Vijay Patel from Ghatlodia will test their electoral fortunes in the second and final phase on Sunday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his last election rally in his native state, at Ahmedabad, on Friday, which was followed by roadshows, over consecutive days on December 1 and 2.Union Home Minister Amit Shah, too, concluded his campaigning for the final phase on Friday, with three public rallies in Mehsana, two public meetings in Ahmedabad and a roadshow in Vadodara.Also, on the last day of campaign for the second phase, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed poll rallies in Dholka, Mahudha and Khambhat to garner support for BJP candidates, while Union Minister Parshottam Rupala campaigned at Banaskantha, Chhota Udaipur and Anand. His Union Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani also held two roadshows in the state.From the Congress, Shaktisinh Gohil held rallies at Deodar, Tharad and Modasa on the last day, while cricketer-turned-politician and ex-Congress MP Mohd. Azharuddin held three road shows at Vejalpur, Jamalpur Khadia and Dariyapur in Ahmedabad.Among AAP leaders who campaigned on the last day were Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who held four roadshows in Garbada, Dahod, Zalod and Fatehpura.The party's CM face for Gujarat, Isudan Gadhvi, also held roadshows at Sidhpur, Kankrej, Dhanera and Vav on the last day.Among prominent names who will cast their votes in final phase in Gujarat are PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Isudan Gadhvi, Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor and cricketers Irfan Pathan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya.The Royal family of Vadodara, Congress leader and MP Shaktisinh Gohil and former chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela will also cast their votes on Sunday.According to Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer P. Bharathi, a total of 833 candidates from 61 parties are in the fray in the final phase."Total of 2,51,58,730 voters will vote, of which, 1,29,26,501 are men, 1,22,31,335 are women and 894 are from the third gender," she said.The CEO further informed that voters will exercise their franchise at 26,409 polling stations, of which 93 are model polling booths, 93 are eco-friendly booths, another 93 are managed by Divyang and 14 are managed by youth.Webcasting will be done in 13,319 polling booths in the second phase, P. Bharathi stated.The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Kutch, Saurashtra and South Gujarat ended on December 1, with an overall turnout of 63.31 per cent.The results of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly election will be announced on December 8. (ANI)

 

BJP's social media war room (Photo/ANI)

Gujarat Assembly polls: BJP's social media war room in action as polling day approaches

By Ankur Gupta | Updated: Nov 19, 2022 17:41 IST

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], November 19 (ANI): A full-fledged centralised social media war room has been set up in Ahmedabad by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) owing to the upcoming assembly elections, from where the social media volunteers - observe social media accounts of the opposition parties, create, react on various hot topics around the political scenario in the state and share the same to more than 50,000 groups on WhatsApp.Dr Pankaj Shukla, State Co-ordinator of IT and Social Media for BJP told ANI, "We have made this social media war room at the BJP Media Centre especially for the elections, where more than 100 social media warriors (volunteers) are working and more than 10000 responsible Karyakartas are working across the state."The social media cell of the BJP is active 365 days but owing to the elections, this special war room has been created where the social media warriors, as the party calls them, will hustle to create and share content, messages and reels on social media platforms throughout the day."We observe and share the day-to-day campaigns with the people as well as different types of content created by the party," Shukla added.The warriors work to share the content with 50,000 Whatsapp groups across the state and they also handle all the social media handles of the state account - BJP4Gujarat. The social media warriors also handle the district pages of the state and post on those accounts as well.The social media war room also works to share important parts of the speeches of the national leaders during their campaigning in the state including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, State president CR Paatil and others."The social media war room follows a strategy depending upon the topics that are trending in politics. They observe the statements of the Opposition parties against the BJP and create videos and memes in reply to it and share the same on various social media platforms. They also make hashtags and more than 10,000 karyakartas share the same, hence they trend the hashtags," stated the state Co-ordinator.Kalpesh, South Zone incharge at the war room said, "We also observe what the Opposition says about the BJP leaders and accordingly make videos of that particular leader in reply to the accusation and share it."Gujarat where the ruling party which has been in power for over 27 years will be seeking its seventh term in office.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been Gujarat's longest-serving chief minister from 2001 till 2014.The state has been a BJP stronghold for a long and the party has set its sight on returning to power with a handsome majority this time as well.However, it faces a stiff electoral challenge from the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has named Isudan Gadhvi as its chief ministerial candidate.Congress is also hoping to put its best electoral foot forward to unseat the BJP government.The state of Gujarat which has 182 assembly constituencies will go for polling in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will occur on December 8, which coincides with Himachal Pradesh's result date. (ANI)

 

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Thousands of NRIs from across the world to visit Gujarat for election campaigning

By Ankur Gupta Suratwala | Updated: Nov 18, 2022 14:45 IST

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], November 18 (ANI): With the Assembly elections in Gujarat approaching, not only the people of the state but also the non-resident Indians (NRIs) especially Gujaratis are equally excited to choose and vote for their favourite leader and party and 25,000 of them are reaching Gujarat from across the world to campaign for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Digant Sompura, Convenor of the Foreign contact department told ANI, "Whenever elections are to be held in India, people from across the World have their eyes on it. Especially when the elections are in Gujarat, the excitement and curiosity increase due to PM Modi's Gujarat connection."This time with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat and the triangular fight, people are all the more curious about the Gujarat elections.Gujaratis across the world have a special connection with their home state and they do regularly give donations in their villages for the construction of schools, libraries and other development works and hence they have earned respect and a special position amongst their fellow villagers. Using this, the non-resident Gujaratis will campaign in the state and ask their villagers to vote in maximum numbers for the BJP.Sompura added, "There are about 20 lakh Indians residing in USA, out of which about 11-12 lac are Gujaratis. All these Gujaratis in the USA have a special connection with their home state and hence more and more people are trying to come to the state and will be campaigning for BJP. As per an estimate, the number of NRIs coming here for campaigning will be 25,000."Dr Vasudev Patel, National Organisation Secretary of BJP in the USA said, "We have the long-sightedness of PM Narendra Modi who knows what is the power and support of NRI's. 32 NRI's have already landed here in Gujarat from New Zealand, Australia and other parts and more people are set to land in the coming days from Fiji, Canada, USA and other countries."NRIs cannot vote in India as they are now citizens of other countries but still, they think they owe something to their country and hence they visit here at their own expense, taking a break from their work and business, to campaign during elections."After Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country, the development in the country is skyrocketing and hence we are here to tell the people in our villages to vote for BJP," added Patel.About the campaigning strategy, Dr Vasudev said, "We follow two strategies for campaigning, one is the ground campaigning where the NRI's work on-ground, where they campaign in different villages and the other is campaigning online, which is done by people who could not make it to India, they campaign by making phone calls to their relatives, villagers, neighbours and tell them why they should vote for BJP. They also make online videos on it and share on the social media platforms."As of now, registration of about 90 people have been received who are coming to India, especially for campaigning and many come here without registering. Moreover, there are about 1000 people who have not given up their Indian citizenship, they will be coming to India, especially to vote. (ANI)