Revoke convicted terrorists’ citizenship: Lang
Yukon Senator Dan Lang is calling on the Senate to amend Bill C-6,
Yukon Senator Dan Lang is calling on the Senate to amend Bill C-6, the Citizenship and Immigration Act which is currently before the Senate for second reading.
Speaking during second reading debate in the Senate late last week, Lang noted that Canadians are generous, and welcome more than 500,000 people every year.
The newcomers include landed immigrants, temporary foreign workers, refugees and foreign students.
“This is among the highest per capita in the world and is the size of a big city each and every year,” Lang noted.
The bill reduces the time for residency in Canada prior to citizenship and exempts approximately 30,000 new Canadians annually from passing a basic citizenship test or from knowing either French or English, Lang noted.
“This will marginalize more and more new Canadians and should be fully scrutinized by all senators,” he said.
Lang said he is most concerned about a proposal that prohibits the government from revoking the citizenship of dual national Canadians who are convicted of serious terrorism offences.
Currently, seven individuals stand to lose their citizenship. In a news release, Lang summarized their cases:
• Tahawwur Hussain Rana. (2011). Citizenship: Pakistan and Canada. He pleaded guilty and was convicted in a Chicago district court for plotting to decapitate employees of a Danish newspaper.
He and his associates were alleged to have also been behind the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008. Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the U.S. He had co-owned a home in Ottawa.
• Zakaria Amara (2006). Citizenship: Jordan and Canada. He was involved with the Toronto 18 and plotted to cause mass murder by bombing key areas in Toronto including a military base, the Toronto Stock Exchange, CSIS regional headquarters, as well as attacking Parliament. He pleaded guilty in October 2009 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Saad Khalid (2006). Citizenship: Pakistan and Canada. He was involved with the Toronto 18, with the same goals as Amara.
He pleaded guilty in October 2009 to committing an offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group and was sentenced to 20 years.
• Saad Gaya (2006). Citizenship: Pakistan and Canada. He was also involved with the Toronto 18, with the same intent as Khalid and Amara.
He pleaded guilty in September 2009 to committing an offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group and was sentenced to 18 years.
Asad Ansari (2006). Citizenship: Pakistan and Canada. He was involved with the Toronto 18 with the same goal as the three previously mentioned offenders.
He was found guilty by a jury in June 2010 of participating in the activities of a terrorist group and sentenced to six years and five months.
• Misbahuddin Ahmed (2014). Citizenship: Pakistan and Canada. He and his associate, Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, were planning to detonate a bomb armed with metal objects with the intent of causing mass casualties in Ottawa.
Ahmed was convicted of participating in activity of a terrorist group and conspiracy to facilitate terrorist activity and was sentenced to 12 years. He was planning to use his dual identity to visit Pakistan for terrorism training and to support a terrorist group.
• Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh (2014). Citizenship: Iran and Canada. For the Ottawa plot, he pleaded guilty to possessing explosives with the intent to cause harm as part of a terrorist conspiracy and was sentenced to 24 years.
“This bill will continue to grant the government the authority to revoke the citizenship of a dual national Canadian in cases related to fraud, misrepresentation, and concealing material facts related to war crimes, crimes against humanity and other international rights violations,” Lang said in the statement.
“Under the government’s proposal which is before us in Bill C-6, a dual national can lose their Canadian citizenship for fraud, lying, misrepresentation or war crimes but not for serious acts related to terrorism.”
Lang is urging Canadians to contact their senators at sencom@sen.parl.gc.ca and urge them to amend Bill C-6 to allow for the revocation of the citizenship from dual national Canadians convicted of terrorism.
The Conservative senator also urged all senators to work together in a non-partisan manner to send a strong message to any Canadians involved in terrorism.
Comments (24)
Up 0 Down 0
Mark Carroll on Feb 1, 2017 at 8:26 am
After his conviction, will Dan Lang's petition to revoke Alexandre Bissonnettem Canadian citizenship as he has stated should happen to convicted terrorists? The biggest terrorist in this country is angry white nationalist men. If memory serves the last terrorist attack was a white nationalist as well.
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Time for lang to retire on Dec 22, 2016 at 1:01 pm
@ Promoting s---, man---, there is no way you are going to convince anyone that some religious freaks are hell bent for leather to destroy the rest of the world. What kind of bubble do you live in, read some history books (instead of the funnies), get out and talk to people (some people spend too much time behind their key boards and forget to get out and talk to people) and find out what is going on around you. Sitting in a dark room plinking away on a key board about the boogie man will not convince anyone!!
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Capitalism will be the end of us. on Dec 22, 2016 at 12:54 pm
@PSG, which religion is that? Perhaps capitalism, that is the one that is causing most of the problems in the mid east and world wide for that matter. If it weren't for greed the world would be a decent place.
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ProScience Greenie on Dec 22, 2016 at 9:11 am
Time for Lang to retire he does not seem to be aware that for many generations powers in the middle east were 'dumping on' the rest of the world and many around the world still live under theocratic regimes as a result of that.
Pretty much every major religion in the world has been 'tamed' except for one. For that major religion, a policy of containment rather than intervention would be wiser and cost less lives and money until such time that democracy, equality and freedom push out theocracy and intolerance.
Again, as a non-believer, heathen if you like, many religions cause great worry, but one religion scares the pants off me.
Happy Solstice. Je suis Charlie.
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Rick of the Universe on Dec 21, 2016 at 4:46 pm
Soooo - Danny Boy is getting political after 8 years of big paycheques and the
easiest job in Canada ?
Wonder what he's going to be running for in the near future ?
Leader of the Pasloski Party perchance ?
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Yukonblonde on Dec 21, 2016 at 9:32 am
Seems there's a pretty easy answer to this. Update the citizenship oath so that it reflects the issues of today's society. If someone breaks that oath they lose. That's what an oath is for, right?
Btw the check out the current oath. Not impressive.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/ceremony/oath.asp
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Lost in the Yukon on Dec 21, 2016 at 8:38 am
Well isn't this interesting ... the Sponsor of Bill S-6 Mr. D Lang, who had committed to stepping down after 8 years is now trying to seem relevant by picking up this issue. The real story is why will he not keep his word, not this red herring. Also interesting to note he drops this days after one of Harper's appointed Senators did in fact honor his commitment to only serve 8 years. Grow up Danny and push away from the trough.
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Time for Lang to retire on Dec 20, 2016 at 8:32 pm
@just spraying, obviously the comment was beyond your comprehension. I will try again, not sure if you know or not (I am leaning towards the latter) that the western world has been dumping on the middle east for generations, all for the oil for your jacked up ford 4x4. Obviously some of those kids would grow up to hate us and end up as criminals in our jails. We have to change the way we get what we want from other countries. There is billion people in the world, pretty hard for 380 million to be a bully anymore. The rest of the world is tired of putting up with our bull---- not sure if you noticed (no I am not holding my breath on that) some of the people that are doing everything including sacrificing their lives for what they believe. Meanwhile you sit at home not having to work and make ignorant comments on things you obviously to little to nothing about.
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Charles on Dec 20, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Both of the remarks I refer to below were off the topic of Senator Lang asking why convicted terrorists are allowed Canadian citizenship and I completely agree with him. @ Tater: Anyone over age of 65 is exempt from taking the citizenship test when applying for Canadian citizenship. That has nothing to do with ability to speak English or French, but a concession to older people. I have no idea why the age limit is so low; you would have to ask G of C about that.
@ June: I usually agree with your posts, but you are way off mark with your comment re dual citizenship. Canada does not require you to renounce citizenship of your birth country and allows dual citizenship as do many other countries, e.g., If someone was born in UK or has a parent born in UK they are entitled to British citizenship, passport and right of abode in UK. The only requirement is that you declare on a passport application that you also have a passport from another country. No-one can take the right of citizenship away except the country that bestows it. Even if Canada required renouncement, the former country would still honour that right. As 'This is Nonsense' says, Canada was built on the multi-cultural ethnicity of European immigrants over several hundreds of years. Without those early immigrants, who may have been entitled to dual citizenship, I doubt there would be many non First Nations Canadians today. If we all checked our family trees most of us would find evidence of ancestors immigrating to Canada; those people chose to stay & their diversity & work ethic are what has made Canada a great place to live.
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Tater on Dec 20, 2016 at 3:55 pm
To "This is nonsense"
On the dual citizenship, if a person earns Canadian citizenship, they may not be recognized by their country of origin as having renounced it's citizenship, but they do not have to exercise it.
As for learning Canadian official languages, we never said you can't come here, just learn them if you want to become a citizen.
And my Great-grandfather came from Russia, thus speaking Russian but chose to learn/speak English and to value/adopt the Canadian way of life. He instilled those values throughout the family to the point I remember a census taker one time arguing with my father that his ethnic identity could not be Canadian and my father insisting he did not wish to be identified any other way.
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Just Say'in on Dec 20, 2016 at 2:18 pm
@Time For.
That is true when you speak of the general population of Immigrants. However this is speaking of Convicted Terrorists. Are you seriously saying we just need to be more nice to them, and get along better? How deluded are you? Is that what you were taught in Bullying class?
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Time for Lang to retire on Dec 20, 2016 at 10:06 am
Mr. Lang needs to retire, isn't his 8 years up?
Until the western world stops meddling in mid east affairs, we will have people that don't like us. We need to find common ground with these people. The more we drive a wedge between us and them, people will hate. The world is getting smaller by the day, the sooner we get along with one another the better off we will all be.
Up 34 Down 19
Alex Gandler on Dec 20, 2016 at 9:41 am
BLAHHHH - rhetoric from an appointed political hack.
Get elected to something Dano and I'll consider listening to you
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Agree 101% on Dec 20, 2016 at 7:50 am
How about others than just the above...? For example.. Mohamed Harkat (born August 6, 1968, Algeria) with Whitehorse ties is a native-born Algerian and permanent resident of Canada who was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of ties to terrorism and was imprisoned under security certificates. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) alleged that he entered the country as a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda.[2]
After immigrating to Canada in 1995, Harkat applied for refugee status and for a Permanent Resident card. He worked as a gas station attendant and a deliveryman for Pizza Pizza during his first seven years in Canada. He was released on May 23, 2006 under house arrest, while fighting deportation.
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This is nonsense on Dec 20, 2016 at 5:17 am
When is senator Lang going to take his pension and retire from the trough that is our patronage senate? What does he think about Duffy once again charging us for his daily meals, even though we all now know that his home is in Ottawa but he successfully pretends (with his fellow senator's consent) that it's a cottage in PEI? How can Mr. Lang offer opinions on anything when he sits at the same table as Duffy?
Senators like D Lang could do a lot to clean up the senate. That he chooses to take up this divisive campaign instead says so very much.
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This is nonsense on Dec 20, 2016 at 5:07 am
June Jackson asked why do people need dual citizenship? One reason is that there are several countries that do not allow people to renounce citizenship. If a person from there chooses to become Canadian, they therefore must have dual citizenship.
As to mandatory French/English, would you seriously tell a family fleeing unbelievable circumstances "no, you cannot come here till you learn English"?
This country was built on immigrants, many of whom did not speak either language. I am proud of my heritage of a courageous great grandfather who saw that his family would surely starve at home and so packed them onto a ship and moved to Canada. He spoke only Gaelic. He and his children adapted to a lonely and harsh living and contributed, like so many others, to the fabric of Canada. He was a proud Canadian who seldom spoke of the heartache of never again seeing his home, or many of his immediate family. June, would you really have let him starve instead simply because he hadn't yet learned English?
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Just Say'in on Dec 20, 2016 at 1:02 am
You talk about an increase in our Carbon Footprint!!!! WOW 500,000 per Year. That means 1,000,000 every two years or the equivalent of a City the size of Edmonton or Calgary has to be built every two years. Those cities took over one hundred years to get that big. This is completely out of control and unmanageable. Stop the craziness now.
What is the footprint of a city of a million people? What is the environmental impact of building one every two years? Completely from scratch.
I was astonished the other day to hear that Toronto would be the third largest city in the U.S. and is the fourth biggest in all of North America behind Mexico City, New York, and L.A. This is totally out of control, we are doomed.
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ProScience Greenie on Dec 20, 2016 at 12:17 am
Being a non-believer, I agree with Lang on this.
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jc on Dec 19, 2016 at 5:37 pm
Notice, they are all Muslim. The Liberals bring them in, and want them to stay, because they know they will vote Liberal and keep them in office. Canada is being destroyed by its own system, It's time for a major change. The hope part is gone. At this point I am even in favour of a moral dictatorship. Wisdom is no longer a requirement for leadership. Just a point of note - notice that all the western world leaders are lining up to be the next Neville Chamberlain. Where are the Winston Churchills?
Up 12 Down 10
Luigi Petrevello on Dec 19, 2016 at 4:43 pm
What does Senator Lang think of bill S-6?
Up 30 Down 25
Joe on Dec 19, 2016 at 4:11 pm
I thought this senator got voted out? Didn't his term finish?
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Yep on Dec 19, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Agree 100%
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June Jackson on Dec 19, 2016 at 3:47 pm
It is a big world out there. I tend to forget in my insulated little community that there are people who want to kill me, and you, and our children. That they have been born and raised in blood and revolution and life is cheap.
That world is so far away from me.
I read this article with a chill... dual citizenship.. why do people need it? You are going to be a Canadian..or you are not. If you are not, there's the door. People go to their birth land, join a war, kill, and when they get caught, scream for Canada to come and get them out...and if Canada doesn't move fast enough, Canadian's get to pay out millions of dollars no matter what you have done... http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/omar-khadrs-millions-2/ Can a person be loyal to 2 countries with totally opposite values and culture?
Personally, I would like to see ALL newcomers to Canada have to speak English or French, have to pass a course in Canadian history, First Nation history, Canadian law.. and adopt Western values. i.e. no honor killings, respect for women, education for all.. issues like that. And, I'd like to see new entries have a trade. Who's paying for 500K people a year going right on social assistance? health care? Although I assume many will have employment.
As usual, I speak only for myself.
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Tater on Dec 19, 2016 at 3:38 pm
Danny is right, why would we let them keep Canadian citizenship?
And a couple of other things like "exempts approximately 30,000 new Canadians annually from passing a basic citizenship test." If you cannot pass the BASIC test which you can probably learn with a week of study...
And just an observation, all those examples given appear to be of a certain religious persuasion... just an observation.