Winnipeg Free Press

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DA Y RS D . 0% 0% LEASE 0% LEASE 0% 0% LEASE 2014 CHEVY MALIBU NCE LEASE FINANCE LEAS 2014 CHEVY IMPALA T ORONTO - In the first major overhaul of the Citizenship Act in nearly four decades, the Conservative government vowed Thursday to tighten the rules for those who want to become Canadian, crack down on fraud and strip citizenship from dual nationals who engage in terrorism. The proposed changes were aimed at strengthening the value of citizenship and improving the efficiency of the process required to attain it. " Canadians take as much or more pride in their citizenship than any other country," said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. " The rate of application is likely to go up in spite of the fact that we're taking certain measures to reinforce the value of citizenship." Many of the new measures aim to crack down on so- called Canadians of convenience by making it harder to attain citizenship. When the new laws come into effect, permanent residents will be required to maintain a " physical presence" in Canada for four out of six years before applying for citizenship, compared with the previous requirement of three out of four years. They will also need to be physically present in Canada for 183 days each year for at least four of those six years, and will have to file Canadian income taxes to be eligible for citizenship. The government also plans to have prospective citizens officially declare their " intent to reside" in the country. More applicants will also have to meet language requirements and pass a knowledge test before attaining citizenship, with the government expanding its age range for those requirements to those aged 14- 64, compared with the current range of those aged 18- 54. " Our government expects new Canadians to take part in the democratic life, economic potential and rich cultural traditions that are involved in becoming a citizen," said Alexander. As eligibility requirements increase, the government said it would simultaneously speed up processing times for citizenship applications by streamlining its decision- making process. It's hoped the change will help cut the backlog of citizenship applications, which currently sits at more than 320,000 files, with processing times stretching to as long as 36 months. By 2015- 2016, the government said it hopes to process successful applications in less than a year. Liberal immigration critic John Mc- Callum said he would be watching closely to see if the government actually cuts processing times as promised. " Waiting times over the last five years have mushroomed in all cases," he said. " I hope they get the time down, but I can't say, given their record, that I have great confidence." In an effort to crack down on fraud, the proposed legislation increases penalties for phoney applications to a $ 100,000 fine and/ or five years in prison. The cost of applying for citizenship will also double, to $ 400. The most controversial changes announced Thursday revolved around stripping citizenship from certain dual nationals. Under the new legislation, citizenship can be revoked from dual nationals who are members of armed forces or groups engaged in an armed conflict with Canada, and from dual nationals convicted of terrorism, high treason or spying. The legislation will also deny citizenship to permanent residents who are involved in those activities. When asked how the government would determine whether terrorism charges or convictions in countries with dubious justice systems were legitimate, Alexander said the new provisions in the act would likely apply to exceptional cases that would be carefully examined. " The Government of Canada has very clear criteria for terrorism, terrorism entities, terrorist groups," he said. " Committing an act of terrorism is a Criminal Code violation, so that is the threshold that would have to be met." Nonetheless, some observers still worried those provisions would create a two- tiered system. " We want to make sure it doesn't go against our Charter of Rights. We want to make sure it doesn't create two classes of citizens," said NDP immigration critic Lysane Blanchette- Lamothe. - The Canadian Press Canada tightening citizenship rules Measures aim to crack down on Canadians of convenience By Diana Mehta TORONTO - This year's flu shot offered substantial protection to people who received it, new Canadian data suggest. The vaccine appeared to be about 71 per cent effective against all flu strains and 74 per cent effective against H1N1, the strain responsible for more than nine in 10 confirmed flu infections this year in Canada, the study says. The research measured how effective the vaccine was at preventing what's called medically attended influenza - infections where the person was sick enough to seek care from a doctor or a clinic. The effectiveness rate was significantly better than that seen in a similar study conducted last year by the same group of researchers. " I think 74 per cent is pretty good, actually. And it's certainly better than what we measured last year for the H3N2 that was dominating," said Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver. In fact, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control estimates flu vaccine cuts the risk of infection by between 50 to 70 per cent, putting this year's vaccine at the high end of the effectiveness one might expect from a flu shot, especially one that does not include an adjuvant or boosting compound. Canada used vaccine with adjuvant in the 2009 pandemic; the vaccine effectiveness was calculated at about 93 per cent then. But adjuvants are not used in seasonal flu vaccine in Canada. The results released Thursday were an interim estimate, calculated in time to help inform the experts who will meet at the World Health Organization later this month to select the viruses that should go into flu vaccine for the 2014- 15 Northern Hemisphere winter. Skowronski said she and her colleagues - from B. C., Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario - continue to gather data and will issue a final analysis at the end of the flu season. The estimate is reached by comparing the flu vaccine status of people who seek care for respiratory illness from participating doctors in the five provinces that take part in the ongoing study. The same patients are also tested to see if their illness is caused by flu or one of the numerous other viruses that cause symptoms similar to flu. Last year, this group's mid- season estimate suggested the flu vaccine was about 45 per cent effective at preventing medically attended influenza. By the end of the season, the estimate had slipped to 40 per cent. But last year nearly 90 per cent of cases were caused by the H3N2 flu virus, which has been a minor player so far this season. While people of all ages can be infected by both these strains, the two viruses mainly target different age groups. This year's H1N1 outbreak has been hitting young and middle- aged adults particularly hard; H3N2 is typically harder on seniors. - The Canadian Press Flu shot proving to be effective, study says FRANK GUNN / THE CANADIAN PRESS Chris Alexander unveils changes to Canada's Citizenship Act in Toronto Thursday. A_ 18_ Feb- 07- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A14 2/ 6/ 14 9: 41: 09 PM ;