U of T panel tackles value of Canadian citizenship

November 22, 2006

Source: University of Toronto
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061122-2754.asp

Has Canadian citizenship lost some of its value? Join U of T professor Randall Hansen and a panel of experts as they discuss the devaluation of the Maple Leaf on Friday, Nov. 24 at 10 a.m., in the Campbell Conference Facility, Munk Centre for International Studies, 1 Devonshire Place.

"Current policy is producing large numbers of Canadian citizens living abroad with no meaningful attachment to this country," says Hansen, Canada Research Chair in immigration and governance in the Department of Political Science. "The Israel-Lebanon conflict this past summer revealed the existence of 40,000 Canadian citizens in Lebanon. When offered safe passage to Canada, less than half chose to evacuate - at a cost of $68 million - and most have since returned to Lebanon."

Hansen will be joined by National Post columnist Andrew Coyne as well as Professor Jeffrey Reitz, R.F. Harney Professor of Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies in the Department of Sociology at U of T, and Professor Audrey Macklin of U of T's Faculty of Law.

Panellists will discuss whether the acquisition of so-called "passports of convenience" has produced a cavalier attitude towards Canadian citizenship and what the ramifications of policy reform - such as calls for an end to dual citizenship and taxes on citizens working abroad - might be.

Contact:

Sean Bettam, Faculty of Arts and Science, 416-946-7950; e-mail: sbettam@artsci.utoronto.ca