Immigration ministry in chaos over lost Canadian recalls

The federal immigration ministry is facing a crisis of credibility after suspending citizenship certificates for an unknown number of people claiming Canadian citizenship by descent — then reversing some of those decisions without explanation.

Earlier this month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began sending letters demanding people surrender recently issued citizenship certificates. The department will only say a "few dozen" are affected, but the pattern has alarmed immigration lawyers across the country.

One American, Tom Maher, received his citizenship certificate in April after applying under legislation passed last year that allows people living abroad with Canadian ancestry to qualify. Last week, he received a suspension letter. Days later, the department revalidated his certificate — no explanation provided.

"The whole thing's been a bit of a roller-coaster," Maher said. "I have no problem providing exhaustive proof. I have no problem being investigated, but once a decision has been made it seems to me there should be some consistency."

Montreal immigration lawyer Lisa Middlemiss, who worked on Maher's case, said he provided "a well-documented chain of lineage" yet the department "flip-flopped" on such an important document. "It's highly disruptive. People have either moved their lives to Canada or are in the midst of selling their homes," she said.

Barbara-Jo Caruso, a member of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, said the department "could have handled this better." The lack of clarity creates uncertainty and erodes trust in the system, she added.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab has not explained what prompted the suspensions. Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged Thursday that affected individuals "certainly" deserve a timely explanation and pledged to follow up. IRCC has paused approvals for new citizenship-by-descent applications while it reviews the process. More than 82,000 applications are currently backlogged, with processing times of at least 15 months.