Woman gets citizenship back after IRCC revokes it over 'error'

An Ajax woman has officially become a Canadian citizen — for the second time — after the federal government cancelled her citizenship earlier this month.

CBC Toronto previously reported on the federal government threatening to revoke Arielle Townsend's citizenship and its subsequent decision to cancel it in early May.  Townsend's ordeal began when the department said her mother may not have been a Canadian citizen when Townsend was born in Jamaica. 

Townsend, 32, said when she received the notice that her citizenship application was approved last week by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, she felt like a weight had been lifted.

"I immediately started crying," she said. "It was such a relief to finally get that done and to have my citizenship restored."

Townsend was invited to take her citizenship oath on May 17 and will receive her new citizenship card in the mail and electronically — she's made a point to get two versions in case, she said. 

But she says she's still angry she had to go through months of stress and uncertainty, including having to be placed on paid leave at work, after losing her citizenship.

"I don't think anyone ever deserves to experience something like this. This was so earth-shattering for me," she said. 

Townsend said she never thought to question her citizenship, as immigration officials issued her a citizenship card in 1992 when she was less than a year old.

Her status came into question in September, when the department said it had examined its records and found Townsend's mother may not have been a Canadian citizen when Townsend was born. 

In response, Townsend and her lawyers say they provided the government with all the facts, arguing Townsend's mother was a citizen when Townsend was born as she was issued a citizenship card in July 1991, months before Townsend's birth, which her mother swore to in a signed affidavit. 

It took another five months for the IRCC to respond in early May. When it did, it said while a citizenship card was created for her mother in 1991, she did not take her citizenship oath until a few months after Townsend was born.

Townsend's mother said in her affidavit that she asked a citizenship officer what she needed to do to get her infant status in Canada — and was assured her daughter was already a citizen. 

The IRCC said in an email to Townsend's lawyer that "there was a clear error in the issuance of Arielle Townsend's Canadian citizenship certificate," but argued there was no provision for discretion. 

That meant Townsend had to apply to become a citizen, which cost her over $600.