Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic - Submissions on Bill C-6: An Act to amend the Citizenship Act

Sep 18, 2026

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Submissions by the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (MTCSALC) to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Bill C-6, proposing amendments to the Citizenship Act and consequential changes to another Act. The text reviews the evolution of Canadian citizenship, including the historical exclusion and disenfranchisement of Chinese Canadians, and argues that any changes must be examined through equality and respect. It also outlines supported positive changes, including revised language and knowledge requirements, repeal of the “intent to reside” provision, reinstated credit toward residency, updated residency thresholds, and related reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

I. Introduction

II. The Evolution of Canadian Citizenship

III. Positives Changes in Bill C-6

Submissions to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Bill C-6: An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act by Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic April 2016 I. INTRODUCTION The Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (MTCSALC) is a not-forprofit community based organization which provides free legal services to low income, non-English speaking members of the Chinese and Southeast Asian communities in the Greater Toronto Area. Established in 1987, MTCSALC is mandated to provide free legal services, conduct public education activities, and engage in law reform advocacy in order to advance the interests and rights ofour constituent communities. Over the years, MTCSALC has served tens of thousands of clients in various areas of law. About one-third of our caseload is in the area of immigration and citizenship law. MTCSALC has appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, other Parliamentary Committees as well as Senate Committees on numerous occasions to present on issues that affect immigrants, refugees and racialized communities. MTCSALC thanks the Standing Committee for granting it the opportunity to comment on Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act. II. THE EVOLUTION OF CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP The Citizenship Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation in Canada. In essence, citizenship defines who we are as a people and hence what Canada is as a nation. For a very long time in the nation’s history, citizenship in Canada was tied to the country’s status as a British colony and as such, citizenship status was reserved primarily for those who were deemed to be British subjects. For Chinese Canadians, who comprise the majority of the clients that we service, this historical definition of citizenship systemically excluded and marginalized them from therest of Canadian society. Despite many having sacrificed their lives and contributed hard labour in the most dangerous conditions to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway – an integral part of the nation building exercise – Chinese Canadians were barred from citizenship status for decades in Canada. Chinese Canadians were treated as second class citizens since their initial arrival in Canada in the 1880s. Subject to the racist head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese Canadians were further disenfranchised by a series of federal as well as provincial laws which denied them the right to vote. Indeed, when the head tax was first introduced, the then Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A Macdonald, had this to say to justify the racist laws: When the Chinaman comes here he intends to return to his own country; he does not bring his family with him; he is a stranger, a sojourner in a strange land, for his own purposes for a while; he has no common interest with us A Chinaman gives us his labour and gets his money, but that money does not fructify in Canada; he does not invest it here, but takes it with him and returns to China he has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations, and therefore ought not to have a vote.” The promulgation of the Canadian Citizenship Act on January 1, 1947 changed all that. For the first time, native born Canadians as well as those who immigrated to Canada who met the requirements of the 1947 Act and naturalized would be recognized as citizens of Canada. The Act reflected a change of values towards the idea that Canada was a country strengthened by its diversity and that those who wished to live and contribute to the country would be welcomed with open arms – ideas and values that Canadians today still value and hold dear. For Chinese Canadians and for many others who had fought hard over the decades to be recognized as Canadians, citizenship is as much about equal respect as it is about identity and a sense of be

FAQs

Who submitted the comments on Bill C-6 to the Standing Committee?

The comments were submitted by the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (MTCSALC).

What historical issues does MTCSALC highlight about Canadian citizenship for Chinese Canadians?

MTCSALC describes long-standing exclusion and marginalization, including barriers such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, head tax, and laws that denied the right to vote.

Which changes in Bill C-6 does MTCSALC support?

MTCSALC supports revised language and knowledge requirements, repeal of the “intent to reside” provision, reinstatement of a half-day credit for time spent in Canada, replacement of the “four in six” with a “three in five” residency rule, and repeal of provisions allowing certain citizenship stripping.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Mali