By: Don Chapman, Head of the Lost Canadians
Just last week, you were out wooing Filipino voters and meeting with community members at a McDonald’s in Winnipeg. Setting aside the irony of hosting a Canadian political event in a quintessential American fast-food chain, a much deeper contradiction was on full display. To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Filipino community lobbying for expanded immigration opportunities. The issue is that while you, Minister Diab, were busy courting future Canadians for possible political gain, actual Canadian citizens were—and still are—trapped in citizenship limbo.
A few weeks ago, Canadian Press reporter David Baxter asked Prime Minister Mark Carney about the “Lost Canadians” whose citizenships were abruptly suspended. When asked if these individuals deserved a timely explanation of what happened, Mr. Carney responded: “The simple answer is yes, and I’ll be following up.”
That was nearly two weeks ago.
To understand the weight of this ongoing silence, picture your own child being rounded up by immigration authorities and sent to a detention center without explanation. Imagine if a president brushed off a reporter’s query with a casual promise to “follow up,” while weeks dragged on and your child remained detained.
Except this isn’t happening across the border—it’s happening here in Canada. What these Canadians took for granted—the safety and security of their citizenship and basic constitutional rights—has vanished without a trace.
One day they were welcomed with open arms—by you and your department. Many moved to Canada, received a Canadian passport and a SIN number, bought a home, and secured a job. Then, suddenly and without warning, one by one they opened an email to discover it was all a façade. Their identity, their culture, and their place in one of the greatest global families got stripped away via the click of a mouse. The complete lack of empathy mirrors a routine retail return rather than a life-altering legal decision.
A week later it’s Canada Day. These folks planned to celebrate the holiday with every fiber of their being. Instead, the red maple leaf decals they and their children were planning to wear sit untouched in a drawer. The town’s parade goes ahead without them. Everyone is celebrating, it seems, but them.
From the silence of their dens, they turn on the television and watch as Prime Minister Carney delivers his Canada Day address, concluding with: “When we are Canadian, Canada grows. Happy Canada Day.”
It stings.
They then see you, Minister Diab, delivering a Canada Day message as you attended citizenship ceremonies to welcome newcomers into the Canadian family. “Today, we are a proud, welcoming, dynamic country precisely because we know how to find common cause and get big things done. Whether your family has been here for generations or you are taking the oath of citizenship for the first time today, you are part of Canada’s story—one of unity, opportunity and progress for all Canadians.”
It stings even more.
Two weeks later, affected families continue to wait in limbo—not just for their citizenship to be restored, but for basic answers. Why did Canada do this? Isn’t Canada supposed to be welcoming, empathetic, and compassionate?
Suspending citizenship without explanation or communication reflects none of those values. Neither does forcing families to wait in silence.
Given that a relatively small number of people are affected by this bureaucratic review, the most just and compassionate path forward is to let these individuals stay. They are not criminals or terrorists. They are not guilty of failing to navigate complex paperwork; they are simply the victims of administrative errors that were in large part, your fault, Minister Diab. After C-3 became law, IRCC was left without clear policy direction, which made this disaster inevitable.
That was your doing. And so is the continued silence. These people want and deserve to get on with their lives. To give with one hand, and take with the other, is cruel.
To quote Mr. Carney’s words from June 1st, back when these individuals were still legally recognized as Canadians: “Society should not be judged by its wealth or its power, but by how it treats its most vulnerable.”
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