Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen won’t say whether the government will keep a warning against female genital mutilation in a revamped study guide for the Canadian citizenship exam.
During a House of Commons committee meeting Thursday, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel grilled Mr. Hussen on a Canadian Press report earlier this year that said the reference to female genital mutilation (FGM) had been removed from a leaked draft of the new citizenship guide. The document, known as the Discover Canada guide, is currently being rewritten by the government.
The Liberal government has made gender issues a prominent part of its foreign policy, launching what it called “Canada’s first feminist international assistance policy” earlier this year. The Conservatives want the government to make it clear in the citizenship guide that FGM is illegal in Canada, so that female newcomers from countries where it is allowed understand their rights.
Mr. Hussen declined to comment on the draft guide or say whether the government will include references to FGM in the new version.
“There hasn’t been any removal of anything. There is no citizenship guide that has been written, so your assertion that we removed something from something that hasn’t been completed is completely false,” Mr. Hussen said in a fiery exchange with Ms. Rempel.
“I commit to continue to consult Canadians on the citizenship guide.”
full story at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/wording-of-citizenship-guide-for-immigrants-sparks-fiery-exchange-in-ottawa/article37261839/
