Born in Canada? You can be deported under C-24.

There are two paths to Canadian citizenship. One is being born in Canada or to at least one Canadian parent. We will call them “inherited” citizens. The second is to apply for it; successful ones are “naturalized” citizens. Citizenship was nearly immutable for both. It could be revoked only if an application for it was misleading. Inherited citizens were nearly always guaranteed an iron-clad one. But recent changes to the law popularly known as Bill C-24 has changed that.

C-24 is commonly perceived as targeting dual nationals: naturalized citizens who are also citizens of their “home” countries. The evacuation of dual Canadian-Lebanese nationals from Lebanon during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War is a notable example. Canada evacuated them when the conflict exploded. Reports emerged of many who spent most of their time in Lebanon.Questions were raised about their Canadian citizenship and ties to Canada, with one M.P. coining them “Canadians of convenience”. It is widely believed that only these types of citizens are affected by C-24.

A deeper look shatters this: C-24 authorizes Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister to strip citizenship from inherited citizens too, even those with family roots in the country spanning many generations. The citizen must be able to easily acquire citizenship in another country. Some countries automatically grant citizenship to those who marry a national from that country or if their parents were citizens of the country; situations many Canadian-born children of immigrants are in.

This opens the door to some unequal consequences. An inherited citizen can be exiled to a country and culture they are unfamiliar with. Marrying someone from another country is enough to snare one in C-24’s net, even if they met and wed in Canada. It does not matter if they knew about their chance to acquire citizenship in the other country.

 One can see the look on the citizen’s face when they read the surprising letter of their pending deportation to an alien land.

These laws also punish based on chance circumstances. Two individuals could commit the same act and receive the same sentence. But one can be deported due to her immigrant parents while the other stays because his lineage has been in Canada for decades. Or she can be deported because she married someone—in her perspective—from the wrong country. It creates classes of citizenship and some will have a greater right to remain in Canada because they are not connected to a country that bestows citizenship so easily.

But the changes are limited for now. These laws will strip citizenship from those who have engaged in terrorist activities, espionage or armed conflict against Canada. You have to have received a sentence of at least five years in Canada, or a similar one in another country.

The government has understandable policy reasons for these changes. Many Canadians were upset to learn that some dual citizens spend the majority of their time outside Canada, only to come back when need arose (such as war or medical emergencies). The laws also help deal with Canadians who are joining militant groups abroad, with some committing war crimes and violating human rights.

But the courts have said that citizenship is more than just status. It is a fundamental part of one’s identity and place in society; one not to be removed lightly. The door to stripping inherited citizenship is now open and the slippery slope looms. Today it is a terrorist activity punishable by five years. Perhaps in a few years it may be any criminal activity punishable by five years. There is a precedent for this. Three years ago a Permanent Resident had the right to appeal their deportation order if their sentence was two years or less. Today it is less than six months.

That many desire to immigrate to Canada is known. The employment and commercial opportunities here are magnetic, and so is the quality of life. Many move here to anchor their children and future generations in the country. These laws can be especially punitive to such immigrants, their children and those who marry citizens of other countries.

It is also a specter to Canadians who support nationalistic groups that do not target Canada but are nonetheless  banned as terrorist organizations. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam and The International Sikh Youth Federation are two such groups.

There is a pending court challenge to C-24 whose outcome will clarify whether the government can create such classes of citizenship. But now that the door has been opened, can it be closed?