Communications 220 Assignment Paper: The Policy Process

Communication 220
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Introduction
Canadian citizenship is attributed by the state membership in the Canadian community, and it involves the Canadian citizens sharing sovereignty and a social contract among the individuals and the society. The benefits from this contract include the right to vote, the right to stay or move in to Canada, and the right to travel with a Canadian passport. Getting a Canadian citizenship symbolizes one`s connexion to the county, and their obligation to communal views like minority right, respect for diversity, the rights and freedom charter, and the rule of law.
The policy process
After Canada achieved confederation in 1867, the United Kingdom and Canada were categorized as British Subjects under the new Dominican Nationality Law. Canada however, got the authority from section 91(25) of the British North America Act, over naturalization and aliens. In 1991, the Immigration Act developed the Canadian citizen status which differentiated British subjects that were born, naturalized, and domiciled in Canada, and the British subjects that were not. In 1914, the Naturalization Act increased the period of time from 3 to 5 years of residency, and that would make one qualify for Canadian naturalization as a British subject. After the first and second world war, there was a desire for Canadian sovereign status. This, in addition to the Nationality Law, led to the creation of the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1946, and this Act started working from January 1st 1947. The Act marked the status of Canadian citizenship as opposed to British Subjects. It played an important part in the advancement of the Canadian National Identity.
Canadian Citizenship Act
In February 1977, when the Citizenship Act was enforced, multiple citizenship were legalized and there was retention of the first and subsequent generation born outside Canada, hence loss of citizenship. These Canadians that had lost their Canadian citizenship would not restore it until April 2009, when Bill C-37: an Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (April 17, 2009) became a law and it limited issuing citizenship to children that were not born in Canada or to Canadian families. The revision of citizen legislation was widely recognized and in 1988, the Canadian government desired to amend the Citizenship Act through releasing a paper, Proud to Be Canadian. The public responded to it, but there was no legislation enacted. In 1993, the new elected government wanted to modernize the citizenship laws, and so, the Canadian citizenship reports were tabled in the House of Commons, but none of the bills were ever passed. Bill C-63, died on the order paper. Then Bill C-16 was introduced, but it also died on the senate order paper after passing the third reading stage. Bill C-18 titled an Act Respecting Canadian Citizenship, clarified on residency requirements of three years of residency within the previous six years, but it also died when legislation was not completed in late 2003.
In 2004, the minister of Citizenship and Immigration responded to the forthcoming legislation on citizenship law that recommended for, no more probationary citizenship status; citizenship to be seen as a right and not a privilege; recognition of the official English and French languages; citizen`s obedience to the Canadian laws, and the rights and responsibilities that citizenship holds. This was passed through the House of Commons and the legislation was passed. Bill C-14: An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (Adoption) was introduced in 2006, in order to amend the Citizenship Act on adoption. The Act aimed to allow adopted children to apply for immediate citizenship, and this bill got royal consent in June 2007. Bill C-37: an Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (April 17, 2009)received royal assent on April 2009.It amended the Canadian Citizenship Act to give Canadian citizenship to those who had lost it or never had it due to the former legislation provisions that had resulted in their citizenship loss.
Bill C-24: Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act
Bill C-24: Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, was introduced by Chris Alexander, the minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and it became a law on June 2014, then it was enforced on June 2015.It amended for provision of citizenship automatically to the Lost Canadians and their children born before 1947. Since at that time, they would not become citizens due to the commencement of the first Canadian Citizenship Act. This bill also added that a Canadian with dual citizenship could lose it if charged with terrorism or convicted of terrorism in a foreign country. It also re allowed international students to count half days of the time spent in Canada towards reaching the residency requirements (Bahrami, 2014).
Bill C-6
The liberal government of Canada introduced Bill C-6 on February 2016, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act and to make Consequential Amendments to another Act. It passed the Canadian House of Commons after its third reading. This bill would repeal portions of the clauses of the conservative government that had passed Bill C-24. Bill C-6 would amend the Citizenship Act through (1) reducing the time for permanent residents to be eligible for citizen application and (2) reinstating the tests in language and knowledge that existed prior to Bill C-24. Bill C-6 would maintain the standards of physical presence for calculating residency for permanent residents that wanted to apply for citizenship. Bill C-6 sustained Bill C-24`s clause on the introduction of an association between filing income taxes in Canada and its admissibility in applying for citizenship. The bills stated that those applying must have met applicable requirements under the Canada Income Tax Act, through filing returns and respecting three taxation years that are within the five years preceding the application date (Meurrens, 2016).
Stakeholder profiles
The (CIC) Citizenship and Immigration Canada envisioned to build a stronger Canada through involving stakeholders on consultations, in order to develop and ensure the success in the nation`s economic, social and cultural prosperity. There are various stakeholders and interest groups that are government, non-government and industrial groups. These groups are involved in the decision making process, and program and policy decisions that support the Canadian humanitarian and immigration objectives (Canada Visa, 2010).
Government groups.
These are the groups that are involved in the policy making and decision making on the Canadian Citizen and Immigration Acts. The government groups include members of parliaments, the House of Commons, various departments of the government like health, transport, immigration, labour and security. Some of the position that these groups espouses on the policy of citizenship and immigrations include; the members of parliament in the House of Commons would be involved with the passing of a bill on the Act of Citizenship and Immigration after discussions in the government meetings. They are generally involved in shaping the policies made on the citizenship and immigration bills, with the benefit of the country`s economy, humanitarian credibility and social growth (Canada Visa, 2010).
This position that government stakeholders hold is accredited due to the fact that, they are the regulators in the running and coordination of the country’s systems like transport, security, health and humanity. With this, they are at the best position to make decisions regarding policies that would benefit each sector, humanity and the nation as a whole. When the policies that they decide upon goes according to what the government shareholders expect, there will be smooth running of the country, in terms of planning, control of immigration, rules and regulations to be followed and a system that all citizens should adhere to the Canadian values (Cohen, 2014). The government stakeholders have unanimity due to a commonality of ideas and views regarding the different government department and the roles, duties and responsibilities that they should be playing. The CIC involves government stakeholders in consultations that will benefit the running of the immigration stream of the country (CIC News, 2016).
Examples, The Federal Skilled Workers Program is a government federal channel on immigration of permanent skilled workers. It features workers education, knowledge, skills, work experiences, and languages (English and French) to be established economically in Canada. They influenced the changes in languages in order to foster economic results, and measures to interest and maintain skilled workers, draw younger applicants, advance provision of organized employment factors; rebalance work experience, and reduce long processing time in the immigration department. The benefits would come in speeding up immigration applications, reducing the time for waiting on federal skilled workers application, and aligning the federal skilled workers to Canada’s labour market needs (CIC News, 2016).
Ministerial instruction stakeholders are part of government group that would identify new federal skilled workers eligible for processing as per the labor market needs of Canada. This group promotes faster application processes of the federal skilled workers, and getting enough workers for the shortage of Canada’s skilled labourers in relation to immigration (CIC News, 2016).
Immigration Levels Planning (ILP) ensures a balance in the immigration and the economy of Canada. It also ensures a balance in the humanitarian goals, economy, and family reunification. The CIC plans should manage these three goals as they work with the Immigration Planning Level Group which determines the territories and provinces levels of immigration, and factors to consider when coming up with immigration levels. Immigration has to respond to the changing trends and dynamics in the economy to support Canada`s economic, social and humanitarian needs (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2016).
Settlement and Integration Joint Policy Program Council, involves coming up with a settlement plan between the settlement and federal government. This is done through developing scans, indicators and settlement outcomes; coming up with tools to measure newcomer’s languages and learning outcomes; creating a settlement program; creating a language training, and conducting evaluations and audits of programme and settlement. Settlement Modernization Implementation Advisory Group, Performance Measurement Advisory Group, Settlement Information Renewal and Skill Development Programs, work together with community service groups, policy development groups, and academic institutions that train workers on gaining soft skills, cultural competencies, technical knowledge, credential recognition and language proficiency.
Non-governmental stakeholders
Non-governmental stakeholders are also involved in the policy making of the Citizenship and Immigration Acts. They act as a party with no conflict of interest and they offer services like health and immunization, funding, education scholarships and humanitarian aids. They offer Private Sponsorship of Refugee Programs, and the faith and ethno cultural groups would welcome and protect refugees, and they also aid in the resettlement of immigrants. They hold this position due to the fact that the government could be biased towards receiving and accepting help from NGO organizations, and the government could also halt programs that NGOs provide for the Canadian immigrants and citizens. Their view in policies about immigration and citizenship would lie on the interest of humanitarian programs and international relations and it would seek to benefit the individual (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2016).
If the policies would go in their way, it means that they would offer support in case of crises like refugee groups, and offer medical and educational services for the refugees and immigrants wellbeing. These policies would also promote international relation among countries since most NGOs represent a global interest, and international relations is strengthened through NGOs being part of a stakeh...