government explained that these applications were rejected because applicants were not able to establish their special and unusual hardship or that they were stateless. However, prior to the 2017 amendment, stateless persons could already apply to the Minister on the basis of “special and unusual hardship”. Between 2010 and January 2017, out of a total of 384 people who received discretionary grants of citizenship, 326 persons were so-called “Lost Canadians”, meaning persons that either lost or never obtained Canadian citizenship due to rules in previous versions of the Citizenship Act. 53 While the majority of these “Lost Canadians” were citizens of another country, it is known that an uncertain number of “Lost Canadians” were in fact stateless. The Government has indicated that there is no evidence of a significant number of outstanding “Lost Canadians”, and that any others may have a strong case for a discretionary grant of citizenship. Of note, the requirements for obtaining citizenship through a discretionary grant are significantly less onerous than for regular grants of citizenship under section 5(1) of the Citizenship Act. Stateless children of Canadian citizens may also be able to obtain citizenship under either section 5(2) or section 5(5) of the Citizenship Act. Section 5(2) obliges the Minister to grant citizenship to any minor child of a Canadian citizen who is a permanent resident of Canada. Section 5(5) obliges the Minister to grant citizenship to stateless persons less than 23 years of age who were born outside Canada to a Canadian citizen and who have been physically present in Canada for a specified period of time prior to application (for more on this particular type of citizenship grant, see below in the section of this report on “Second Generation Born Abroad”). 2.3.2 Rejected Applications If an individual’s application for status has been rejected, he or she may file for appeal or for judicial review. Whether a failed refugee claimant can access the rights to study, work and health care is dependent upon whether they have appealed their decision, requested a judicial review or residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, or not pursued the matter. Stateless persons who are not lawful residents of Canada are vulnerable to discrimination and have difficulties fully enjoying their human rights. They are ineligible to remain in Canada and cannot enter any other country; their human right to freedom of movement is therefore severely restricted. They are also ineligible to bring their children and spouses to Canada. Moreover, they cannot, except in specific circumstances, access health care or education. Many have difficulties in obtaining legal and legitimate employment, and as a result, are often forced to live in substandard housing. As they reside in Canada without status, they also face risk of detention. For example, between 2012 and 2017, 145 stateless people were detained on immigration-related grounds according to statistics shared by CBSA. Information on their current whereabouts is unavailable. However, recent statistics published by CBSA reveal that the large majority of immigration-related detainees in the 2017-2018 fiscal year were detained (a) either because they were considered unlikely to appear “for an examination, an admissibility hearing, removal from Canada or a proceeding that could lead to 53 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Memorandum to the Minister: Lost Canadians. (15 February 2017) 14