The greatest attribute of Canadians is that they are so wonderfully nice. The greatest problem with Canadians is that they are so wonderfully nice.
C-37 affected every Canadian on the planet, which means that you have a different set of citizenship rights today than you did prior to April 17, 2009.
Canadians seem more than willing to stand up to promote human rights for all kinds of people around the world, but somehow when it comes to voicing their views regarding the rights of Canadians here at home we turn a deaf ear.
Contact your news media, ask Macleans Magazine why they haven't printed a word in their magazine about the Lost Canadians since February, 2003 - that's seven years of silence! Amazing, considering they promote themselves by saying:
"Maclean’s is Canada’s only national weekly current affairs magazine. Maclean’s enlightens, engages and entertains 2.8 million readers with strong investigative reporting and exclusive stories from leading journalists in the fields of international affairs, social issues, national politics, business and culture."
Next, go ask the Globe and Mail why they've remained silent for more than 3 years- not one article about C-37, yet they describe themselves as a news source that:
"...consistently delivers Canada's best and deepest coverage of national news." Going further, they say they are "on the ground when stories break, able to report faster and more accurately than newspapers that rely heavily on wire services."
And if that were not enough, they further boast on their web page that they "offer balanced perspectives and competing points of view so that readers can make the smartest, most-informed decisions about issues."
Question: If they refuse to give in-depth coverage regarding citizenship in Canada, then how are Canadians expected to make informed decisions? As a note, for the 13 months preceding Bill C-37's passage in Parliament, there wasn't one article in the Globe and Mail mentioning the Lost Canadians. For the article that they printed on March 1, 2007, the facts were wrong and when asked they elected not to print a correction. (For the record, their article implied that there were only 450 Lost Canadians in the world, and that they were all now Canadian citizens.)
The Dominion Institute and the Case of Jack Babcock
Several years back the Dominion Institute started an on line petition asking for a state funeral for the last remaining Canadian WW I soldier, Jack Babcock.
It turns out that Jack Babcock is a "Lost Canadian."
When C-37 became effective, Prime Minister Stephen Harper expedited Mr. Babcock's citizenship application and Babcock became a citizen in 21 days, from the date of application to the date his citizenship was granted.
Meantime, Canadian WWII veteran Guy Valliere (above in his hospital bed), was allowed to die disenfranchised from the country he was born in and defended, all because he lost his citizenship due to reason 11 in the long list of reasons how you can lose your citizenship. (Click here to read 12 Ways to Lose Your Citizenship )
11) You are a child of a woman who married a non-Canadian prior to 1947. (It doesn't matter that you've spent your whole life in Canada or were born in Canada!)
This happened because the Canadian people were uninformed (very little media coverage), and organizations like the Dominion Institute remain silent. Being that the government seems mainly reactive than pro-active, about the only way to get politicians off dead centre is when the public is outraged.
Please, write or voice your opinions to your MP's, the media, and all the Dominion Institutes out there.
Interestingly, Adrienne Clarkson, after her stint as Governor General of Canada, started the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Asper family started the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Both these organizations knew about the Lost Canadians, yet both groups remained silent. Why? It's time for the average Canadian to expect accountability. Again, please write and voice your opinions to all people and organizations who can educate or make a difference. In fact, it is your duty as a Canadian citizen to be informed.
