Overview
- Alfie Jones took the citizenship oath on Monday and was cleared by coach Jesse Marsch to start for Canada against Venezuela on Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.
- The Globe and Mail reported that a government minister and a senior public servant helped move his application forward in time for the match.
- Sport Secretary Adam van Koeverden said he did not help Jones jump the queue, stating he ensured Canada Soccer had access to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials.
- Canada Soccer said it retained legal counsel, documented Jones’s eligibility through his Alberta-born grandmother, and worked with IRCC and the RCMP to resolve an administrative delay on a criminal database check.
- An IRCC official told Senators that Lost Canadian cases typically take about six months, and Bill C-3 to expand citizenship transmission remains in its final stages in the Senate.