The Canadian government has introduced legislation that could significantly expand the scope of citizenship by descent, addressing years of advocacy from families affected by limitations under current law.

The proposed bill, Bill C-3, seeks to amend the Citizenship Act to allow Canadians to pass citizenship to their children born or adopted abroad beyond the first generation, a privilege currently denied to most.

These changes aim to reflect the realities of modern Canadian families and global mobility.

Announcing the legislation, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, emphasized the deeper meaning of citizenship:

“Citizenship is more than a legal status—it’s a profound connection to the values, history, and spirit of Canada,” said Diab.

“By requiring those who pass citizenship to their children born abroad beyond the first generation to have a substantial connection to our country, we are honouring that bond.”

“It reflects our belief that being Canadian means more than just a place of birth; it’s about belonging, shared experiences, and a commitment to the inclusive and diverse community we all call home.”

Under the proposed law, those who would have obtained Canadian citizenship if not for the first-generation limitation, or outdated clauses in previous citizenship laws, would automatically become citizens.

However, to confer citizenship to their children born abroad, Canadian parents must show a “substantial connection” to the country.

This is defined as at least 1,095 cumulative days (three years) of physical presence in Canada prior to the child’s birth or adoption.

The bill comes in response to a 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling, which declared the first-generation limit unconstitutional.

Rather than challenge the court’s decision, the federal government has chosen to act, saying the existing rules led to “unjust outcomes” for Canadians with children born abroad.

This legislative move also builds on previous reforms.

In 2009 and 2015, changes to the Citizenship Act helped restore or grant status to thousands of “Lost Canadians”, individuals who lost or were excluded from citizenship due to outdated provisions.

Those changes reportedly resulted in around 20,000 people receiving Canadian citizenship certificates.

Additionally, the bill addresses past legal loopholes, such as section 8 of the Act, which led to loss of citizenship for those born outside Canada between February 15, 1977, and April 16, 1981, if they failed to apply to retain citizenship by age 28.

If passed by both the House of Commons and the Senate, and once it receives Royal Assent, the government has pledged swift implementation and will issue guidance for eligible individuals under the new rules.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the latest attempt by President Donald Trump to bar most new international students from enrolling at Harvard University, marking the latest escalation in the administration’s ongoing clash with the Ivy League school.

The executive order, issued late Wednesday, declared Harvard an unsuitable destination for international students and threatened to cancel visas for those already enrolled.

It accused the university of fostering an ideology counter to American interests and failing to meet federal expectations.

In a swift response, Harvard amended a pending legal case to challenge the move, accusing the government of retaliatory behavior.

“This action is part of a coordinated campaign of retribution against Harvard for exercising its First Amendment rights,” the university stated in court documents.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from implementing the ban.

She found that Harvard would suffer “immediate and irreparable injury” without urgent court intervention.

This is not the first time Judge Burroughs has ruled against Trump’s immigration-related actions targeting international students.

In 2020, she blocked a similar policy aimed at revoking visas for students taking online-only classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dispute comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to reshape higher education.

Officials have accused elite institutions like Harvard and Columbia University of promoting liberal bias and failing to address antisemitism.

In a particularly aggressive move, the federal government recently slashed approximately $3.2 billion in grants and contracts awarded to Harvard.

Officials have also warned the university could be excluded from all future federal funding.

International students, who make up nearly 27% of Harvard’s enrollment, have been a particular focus of the administration’s criticism.

While acknowledging that the president holds broad immigration powers, Harvard argued that the latest proclamation was politically motivated and not grounded in national interest.

“The President is not acting to protect the United States,” Harvard stated.

“This is a personal vendetta against an institution that refused to comply with political demands.”

Meanwhile, other universities such as Columbia have reportedly conceded to federal oversight, though not without controversy.

Nathan Otitodilichukwu, a 17-year-old Nigerian, has been sentenced to six years in prison in the UK for manslaughter after a 76-year-old pensioner died due to a firework attack at his home in east London.

Otitodilichukwu and an unnamed teenage accomplice pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Old Bailey in connection with the death of Robert Price, a retired man whose residence in Dagenham was targeted on July 27, 2024.

According to the UK Metropolitan Police, the teenagers first approached Price’s home with a firecracker but fled when confronted.

They later returned, and CCTV footage showed Otitodilichukwu climbing onto a gas meter to throw a lit firework through a window.

“There was a loud bang, followed by the laughter of the defendants as they ran from the scene,” the police said in a statement.

Emergency responders arrived soon after but found Price had died at the scene.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that smoke inhalation and burns caused his death.

Detectives apprehended Otitodilichukwu within 48 hours, recovering clothing matching the surveillance footage.

This arrest led to the capture of the second teenager, who was sentenced to two years and eight months.

Police spokesperson Clarke commented on the case, saying, “This is a deeply tragic case, which saw a man lose his life in his own home after a completely mindless and reckless act had devastating consequences. The young defendants will now have to face the consequences of their actions by spending time in prison.”

Clarke added he hoped the sentencing would provide some comfort to Robert Price’s family, noting that the guilty pleas spared them the difficulty of a full trial.

“I hope Robert’s family can take some solace in this outcome, and I am pleased the defendants spared them the ordeal of a trial,” Clarke stated.

US billionaire and Chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, has raised concerns about Nigeria’s health budget, describing it as too small to effectively address the country’s health challenges.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Lagos during the inaugural Goalkeepers event by the Gates Foundation in Nigeria, Gates highlighted the pressure that health budgets are under, especially with the ongoing aid cuts.

He stated, “There will be less money for health in Nigeria next year than this year.”

Gates pointed out that the inadequate funding partly explains why Nigeria has the world’s second-highest rates of maternal and child mortality.

He explained, “The amount of money Nigeria spends on healthcare is very, very small. So I don’t know why you would have expected that number to go down. If a mother delivers at home, there are certain complications that you can’t solve.”

He elaborated on the challenges faced in northern Nigeria, saying, “What countries like India do is that they drive delivery into centres where they can give C-sections, but that takes money.”

“So in northern Nigeria, about half the births are at home, and even the ones that aren’t at home, many of those centres can’t do C-sections. So, unfortunately, you’re going to have a maternal mortality problem because of that.”

The Gates Foundation is working on affordable technologies such as an ultrasound scanning device to identify high-risk deliveries.

Gates said, “So the 10 per cent it identifies as high-risk, hopefully you can take them on to a medical facility, even though that might not be easy, and the other 90 per cent you can stay in the community.”

He also highlighted an effective bleeding intervention trial, noting, “Our bleeding intervention, where we had a trial that was so impactful that it was stopped early.”

“There’s actually an amazing doctor at the hospital who ran that study, and it is just an incredible thing because this is cheap.”

Gates warned that in almost every African country, reductions in funding would result in a significant rise in deaths.

He emphasized the foundation’s commitment to ensuring children born in Nigeria have equal opportunities as those in the richest countries, saying, “I think we can make a lot of progress, even though in the near term, it’s an awful situation that the aid budgets are being cut significantly, and in some cases without any sort of warning at all. And that’s tragic.”

He called for a reduction in aid cuts or their restoration, adding, “I will advocate that the cuts be minimised or that we get them restored when we can. But, you know, I won’t be able to get them.”

Responding to whether the Gates Foundation can fill the funding gap caused by US aid cuts, Gates said, “There’s nobody who can match that U.S. government money. And the European money is all coming down. We have, like, a 40% decrease from Germany, from the U.K. In their case, it’s less ideological and more to do with just getting money for Ukraine or ageing society.”

He clarified the foundation’s financial limitations, stating, “Well, the problem with the Gates Foundation is that we don’t have some special bucket of money. We spend more every year, and all my money will be spent.”

“And so no matter what the other people do, it’s the same amount of money. If they increase, I’ll still spend my money. If they disappear, I’ll still spend my money. So my money is not extra money.”

Gates noted that Nigeria managed to mobilize an additional $200 million, but warned, “that’s not anywhere close to the money that’s disappearing.”

“And you’re yet to see what happens when UNICEF gets cut, and Gavi gets cut, and Global Fund gets cut. So people don’t like speaking up about it, but this is terrible.”