我支持自由党废止C-24

联邦自由党政府拟废止前保守党政府推出的C-24法案，即允许政府剥夺部分加国人士的加拿大公民身份的加拿大《公民法》。

The federal Liberal government set to repeal the Conservatives Bill C-24, the Canadian Citizenship Act that allows some Canadians to be stripped of their citizenship. 

根据该法案，政府有权剥夺犯下恐怖主义、叛国或间谍等重罪并拥有双重国籍人士的加拿大公民身份。

Under the bill, Canadians with dual citizenship can have their Canadian citizenship revoked if they are found guilty of serious crimes – such as terrorism, treason and spying.

在联邦自由党政府为兑现全面修订备受争议的C-24法案的竞选承诺而宣布上述决定。自由党此举引发激烈争论，许多加国人士对此深感失望，称恐怖分子一直藐视加国，理应剥夺他们的公民身份，并将他们逐出加拿大。

The announcement was made as the Liberals take steps to reach their campaign promise to overhaul the controversial law. Amid heated debate over the Liberals’ move, many Canadians express their disappointment, stating that the terrorists are in contempt of Canada and should be revoked of the citizenship and kicked out of the country. 

但是在许多族裔加国人士看来，C-24法案带有明显的歧视色彩。按照该法案，通过归化入籍获得加拿大公民身份的人士永远都不是真正的加拿大人。他们不能享受与本土出生且没有双重国籍的加拿大人同等的权利和待遇。该法案将加拿大人分成两类：一类为可以永久保留加拿大公民身份的公民，而另一类为一旦身犯重罪就有可能失去加拿大公民身份的人士。

But the bill is deemed as discriminatory to many ethnic Canadians.  Under the bill, those who have obtained the citizenship through naturalization are never to be true Canadians. They are treated differently than those who have no dual citizenship and were born as a Canadian. The law creates two different classes of Canadians – those who can keep the citizenship permanently and those who may lose it if they commit a serious crime.

27岁的加国土生公民Saad Gaya已经成为C-24法案的牺牲品。在Gaya因参与基地组织授意的爆炸阴谋而被判处12年监禁后，他又差一点因为2015年5月生效的剥夺公民身份法而失去加拿大公民身份并被驱逐至巴基斯坦。

Saad Gaya, a 27 year-old Canadian born has become the test of the bill. After being sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in an al-Qaeda-inspired bomb plot, Gaya almost lost his citizenship and was deported to Pakistan under the revocation system that came into effect in May, 2015.

Gaya 出生在蒙特利尔，他的父母在30多年前从巴基斯坦移民至加拿大，而在他们归化入籍时就已经放弃巴基斯坦公民身份。但是仅凭借着Gaya的父母虽然已经移民安省逾三十年但却都出生于巴基斯坦这一事实，前保守党政府就认为Gaya拥有加拿大和巴基斯坦双重国籍。

Gaya was born in Montreal to Pakistani immigrants who came to Canada over 30 years ago. His parents lost their Pakistani citizenship when they became Canadian citizens. But Gaya was believed by the Conservative government to be a dual national of Pakistan – by virtue of fact that his parents who immigrated to Ontario more than three decades ago were born there.

保守党认为剥夺Gaya的加拿大公民身份并不会导致其成为无国籍人士，因为在其父母恢复巴基斯坦国籍后，他也被追溯为拥有双重国籍。

The Conservatives argued that stripping Gaya of his citizenship would not render him stateless because he retroactively became a dual national the moment his parents did.

由于Gaya出生于加拿大，并且其家人在他出生前就已经移民至加拿大，他对父母的出生国—巴基斯坦鲜有了解。实际上对许多根据该法案条款而面临被驱逐下场的人士来说，他们的另一国籍是来源于一个与本人既无紧密联系又存在语言文化障碍，且举目无亲的国度。

Gaya, who was born in Canada and whose family has been in Canada since before he was born, has known little about his parent’s birth country -- Pakistan. In fact, many of those who are captured by the revocation provision and face deportation under C-24 have a nationality derived from a country with which they have no meaningful connection, have little or no familiarity with the language or culture, and have no family or support network. 

恐怖分子理应受到惩罚，但他们不应该受到双重惩罚。据心理医生的报告称，幼稚，不成熟，缺乏“城市生存能力”的Gaya目前尚需再服四年半刑期。 Gaya已经为所犯罪行付出代价，不该再对他施以更重惩罚。Gaya的律师称，如果将他驱逐到一个他举目无亲，一无所知的国家，对他来说，那简直是非常残忍而可怕的惩罚手段。

Terrorists deserve punishment but they don’t deserve to be punished twice. Gaya, who was described in a psychiatrist's report as naive, immature and lacking "street smarts”, is now serving another 4 ½ year jail term. He is already paying the price for his crimes and shouldn’t have to be punished further. If he is deported to a country his has never known, it is a cruel and horrible punishment, says his lawyer.

如果像Gaya这样的罪犯被驱逐出境，无疑会令那些拥有双重国籍，或是像Gaya的父母一样尽管已经拥有加拿大国籍但却是出生在外国的移民父母不寒而栗。如果政府不废止C-24法案，身为族裔父母的我们就有可能将自己的双重国籍延续给子女，从而可能导致他们面临Gaya目前的可怕遭遇，而出生于移民家庭的加国罪犯可能也会遭受远比当地罪犯更严厉的惩罚。

If criminals like Gaya are deported, it will send a chilling message to immigrant parents who hold dual citizenships or who, like Gaya’s parents, were born in a foreign country despite becoming a Canadian. If bill C-24 won’t be repealed, ethnic parents may pass on our dual nationality to our children and present them with the prospect of a devastating ordeal that Gaya was facing. Canadian criminals born into immigrant families may get much more severe punishment than their native counterparts.

但是在《人权宪章》面前，加国人士该人人平等。

But under the Charter of Rights, all Canadians are equal.