22 April 2010
Statement of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO)
about making our children born abroad second class citizens
April 20, 2010
Hello, I am Robert Brookfield, Director of Communications of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO). I would like to thank Ms. Bolduc for arranging this event.
PAFSO represents employees of Canada’s Foreign Service who work in Canada and abroad. We are here because amendments to the Citizenship Act that came into force last year limit the ability of our members’ children to pass on citizenship.
We believe it is unfair that children of Canadian public servants or Armed Forces be granted a lesser level of citizenship than that of children born in Canada. Such a situation is complete nonsense from a public policy standpoint.
The new law effectively makes second class citizens of thousands of Canadian children born abroad, including children born to those serving at embassies, consulates, and military bases. Unlike other Canadians born in Canada, those children cannot pass on Canadian citizenship to their born or adopted children when working or studying abroad.
We do not have statistics for children of Canadian public servants or military personnel serving abroad. But one specific example illustrates the scale of the problem: we understand that from 1983 to 1994 there were almost 4,000 children born to Canadian Forces members serving at the Canadian Forces Base in Lahr, Germany. All of those children, now in their late teens to mid twenties, have this “second class” citizenship.
Finally, I note that the existing policy will likely cost the Canadian government more as its employees abroad insist on coming back to Canada to give birth so that their children are not disadvantaged.
Thank you for your attention.
Contact information for PAFSO:
412 – 47 Clarence Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 9K1
Phone: (613) 241-1391
Voice Mail: (613) 241-4396
Fax: (613) 241-5911
www.pafso.com
E-mail: info@pafso.com