Ottawa tackles major changes to citizenship law.

OTTAWA — The federal government wants to triple the cost of citizenship, make it harder to become a Canadian citizen, toughen penalties for fraud, and regulate citizenship consultants.

Dubbed the “first comprehensive reforms to the Citizenship Act in a generation,” Bill C-24 — the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act received mixed reviews after it was tabled Thursday in the House of Commons.

It seeks to strengthen the value of citizenship, while reducing red tape and eliminating backlogs.

“We are confident that these changes reflect what Canadians want and expect: a system that emphasizes how great a privilege Canadian citizenship is, while protecting it from abuse,” Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said as he unveiled details of the bill at Toronto’s Old Fort York.

“Citizenship is not a right, it’s a privilege.”

Under the new rules, newcomers must reside in Canada for four out of six years, and at least 183 days each year, to be eligible to apply for citizenship. They must also show proof that they’ve filed income taxes in that time.

In rare cases, judges would be asked to intervene to determine residency if someone believes they have a good reason for not meeting the requirement that they be physically present.

The current threshold is three years out of four; however, residency is not currently defined as physical presence, nor are there any tax requirements.

In an effort to level the playing field, international students and temporary foreign workers would also no longer be able to count time spent in Canada before becoming permanent residents toward the residency requirement for citizenship.

The bill would also open the door to so-called “lost Canadians,” the children of “war brides” and Canadian servicemen born out-ofwedlock before 1947, when Canada had no citizenship laws of its own.

Don Chapman, a longtime advocate for those fighting for citizenship, said the changes would likely help people such as Jackie Scott, a B.C. woman whose case is now before the courts.

The bill also incorporates details of a private member’s bill that would fasttrack citizenship for those who serve in the Canadian military — and strip it from dual nationals, including those born in Canada, who engage in armed conflict against Canada.

In an effort to crack down on those who seek citizenship solely to obtain a passport, newcomers will also have to sign an undertaking that they will reside in Canada, at least until they take the oath, when, like all Canadians, they’ll have the right to mobility and thus can’t be prevented from leaving the country for extended periods of time.

“We want new citizens to embrace our rich culture and values and feel compelled to remain active members of Canadian society,” Alexander said.

The bill does not address the contentious issue of whether citizenship by birth should be automatic, particularly in the case of pregnant tourists who come to Canada to “gift” citizenship upon their babies. Alexander said the government is still studying this.

The citizenship changes are expected to drastically reduce backlogs, which are currently around 320,000, and shrink wait times, which can now be as long as 36 months. The government expects to reduce the backlog by 80 per cent and wait times to less than a year by 2015-16.

If and when the bill passes, the new streamlining rules would apply retroactively to those in the application backlog, but they would not be subject to the new residency requirements, Alexander said.

Sharry Aiken, an immigration law professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., had a “mixed” reaction to the plans.

She applauds efforts to resolve the “lost Canadian” issue and argues that “clarifying and simplifying” residency rules is a “step in the right direction.” Her biggest concern was the decision to concentrate the power to revoke citizenship in the hands of the minister.