The case of Rita Rousselle is disturbingly similar to a recent case here in London. Both cases illustrate the shabby treatment some war bride children have received over the years. The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 gave war bride children the status of natural-born Canadians. Now, 63 years later, some are still being told they are not citizens of the only country they know.
Imagine the shock of being told in your 60s, after a lifetime in Canada, that you must join the citizenship queue. Some are excluded from citizenship solely because they were born out of wedlock, even if their parents later married. Such cases were common and inevitable under wartime conditions. There will be more such cases in 2010 as another age cohort turns 65.
I believe the government has made a political calculation that this problem will eventually solve itself by natural attrition. What a shabby, cynical way to make citizenship policy.
ROBERT ADDINGTON
London, Ont.
