Legal fight of ‘ lost Canadian’ could result in overhaul of citizenship laws

Canadian citizenship laws may need to be overhauled if a so- called “lost Canadian” wins her legal battle.

Jackie Scott, 68, was refused citizenship even though she came to Canada with her British mother and Canadian father at the age of two. A judicial review of that refusal was scheduled for July, but Scott put it on hold so she and her lawyers could broaden the court action.

Documents filed Aug. 2 in Federal Court in Vancouver show Scott is petitioning for “declarations” from the court that could have serious ramifications for Canadian citizenship, including whether Parliament has total control over who is considered Canadian.

Scott said even though she would have loved to settle her own citizenship dispute back in July, her fight has become about much more than herself.

“It would be very selfish of me just to say it’s about me, because it’s not,” she said. “If we’re successful, we can finally resolve the issue for many people.”

Scott was born in England in 1945 to a Canadian serviceman and a British woman and later migrated to Canada.

The government claims Scott’s father was legally a British subject rather than a Canadian at the time because Canada’s first citizenship act did not come into effect until 1947 and because her father and mother were not then married, Scott cannot automatically be considered a Canadian.

The government argued that “Canadian citizenship is a creation of federal statute. In order to become a Canadian citizen, a person must satisfy the applicable statutory requirements.”