Citizenship and Immigration committee  As I've said, these are the individuals we are aware of. I am not suggesting that it covers the total population.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, but it's based on—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  If you asked if this is a certain percentage of the total population, my answer would be that I don't know.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  To start with, as is explained here, there will almost certainly be duplications in these numbers. Individuals can apply more than once for a certificate.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't know. They may have lost the certificate. As I understand these numbers, they are not necessarily births in this particular year. The graph might go in a slightly different direction. Certainly, looking at the numbers, it is true that there appear to have been more certificates issued in 2007 than in 1982.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  What I am explaining to you, sir, is that this does not necessarily relate to births in that year. Those 20,000 could include births in 1980.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I wouldn't categorize it as a discrepancy. I would categorize it as a fact. These are not births—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you. Yes, this is a matter that has come up a number of times in the past, and actually is a point that the Royal Canadian Legion had asked us to consider. In fact, there's also a reference to the issue in the standing committee's recent report. Bill C-37 will in effect wipe the slate clean from this issue by making it so that these individuals will be treated as citizens, not only going forward but also retroactively to their birth outside of Canada, in such a way that the nuance around the DND document, or the registration of birth abroad document, becomes moot.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's correct. It's a remedy by which the minister may make a recommendation to the Governor in Council or to the federal cabinet, and they can decide to direct the minister to grant citizenship in deserving cases. In fact, that provision has been used a number of times, particularly in the last year, to resolve some of these anomaly cases, the most notable being that of Mr.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Can I just add that this provision will continue under Bill C-37. There's nothing in the bill that alters in any way the provisions of subsection 5(4) of the Citizenship Act.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think this is based on a misunderstanding of what happens with naturalized Canadians, or what happens when immigrants choose to come to Canada and become citizens. It's at that moment that their citizenship is sort of set in stone, and it's from that period on that we would look at their children born abroad.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  As I said in response to the previous question, there may be individuals who have a deserving claim to citizenship that can be resolved through this provision of subsection 5(4), the special grant of citizenship from the Governor in Council.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think it's important for me to reiterate a comment that has been made many times to this committee. That is, we do not know the number of either first-generation Canadians born outside of Canada, second generation, third generation, fourth generation, or fifth generation. One way of putting it is that we know the individuals that we know about.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Let me just add that actually that sponsorship can take place overseas as well.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  A Canadian citizen who is resident outside of Canada can complete a sponsorship for a dependent child. A dependent child includes children up to 22 years of age, so they have at least a 22-year window to do that sponsorship.