It’s a tough question…

Hi Emilia….I didn’t think I would find the one article I knew of the even mentioned that situation of the other Canadian who is in trouble abroad. But I got lucky.

I am not sure if the situation is resolved cause so few news outlets reported on it that follow up is not really necessary. This article mentions a number of situations but the one I was talking about is the one in Ethiopia.

You bring up an interesting issue when you speak of people who put them self in harms way. Journalists would be the most common in that category. I am not sure how it would be decided who should pay what amount of the rescue or if setting a rule like that would rub people the wrong way altogether and cause more problems than it solves.

B

Thank you for your response. I would not want to abolish dual citizenship, as some people do. However, I think there should be, as you say, some measures to prevent those who haven’t lived here and/or paid taxes to this country to suddenly claim full rights. But it is a difficult question as to how to implement this.

I didn’t hear about that person in East Africa. Could you provide me with a link?

I am not saying that Canada should not help its citizens in distress. But in the case of Lebanon, perhaps it would be fair to say that those who were transported out of there should be made to pay for the services Canada provided (as the United States does). Regarding individual cases of people in trouble (ex. Brenda Martin), again, I don’t say Canada should not help them, but if they put themselves in a risky situation deliberately, maybe they should compensate the Canadian government, and hence the Canadian taxpayers, in some way. For example, I am thinking about James Loney, the peacekeeper who went to Iraq and was imprisoned there for three months. He certainly had noble intentions, but he must have known that going to Iraq in a time of war was a dangerous prospect. I am happy that he was released, but it struck me that given that he put himself in such a situation, perhaps he should do something to pay back those who helped rescue him.

Anyway, it’s not an easy issue. At least you and I are humble enough to admit we don’t have all the answers!

Emilia

I like that we allow multiple citizenships. It is definitely not something we should abolish. I always thought that you had to spend a certain amount of time in Canada or live here at least once every certain number of years to retain it though (speaking of those who live abroad).

I think that some measures should be in place so someone does not leave for years and years without even visiting but retains total rights. Hopefully before we get to that point though we would start treating all citizens equal. I am still confused why that lady that committed crime in Mexico got attention and an $87,000 flight home on a private jet and a Canadian citizen is being left to rot in the justice system of an east African country as we speak. That Lebanon situation really caught peoples attention due to the large numbers. I imagine the costs were high. I wonder how many have chosen since then to spend more time in Canada? It would be interesting to see follow up.

It is a country’s duty to protect citizens abroad….but it cannot do so selectively. It cant only act when the numbers are huge, or only when the numbers are small either. It will be a real task to come up with a fair set of rules. I have no idea how to solve the issue. I sure hope that no one on the right wing of politics is involved…they will outlaw people who live here full time from holding passports to other countries, let alone stopping Canadians abroad from claiming citizenship. Many of them would like to enforce that selectively too.

B