Thoughts On New "Citizenship Guide"

To sum it up simply: I like it.

It galls me to learn that the last time the guide was updated was 1995, nearly 15 years ago. This means when I became a citizen in 1994, the guide was even more backwards then. No wonder why I still thought Brian Mulroney was prime minister for at least 3 years after I became a Canadian.

I could go on about how I'm pleased about how the inclusion of history, government and political information makes this booklet worthwhile, even for citizens who have been here for years. But since there is too much to mention, I'll focus on some of the criticisms (I can't believe there are any) because they need to be addressed. Liberals and New Democrats are complaining that a number of facts have either been omitted or marginalized, such as Medicare, the Charter, Nellie McClung, and same sex marriage, and accusations of politicization of the whole procedure have aroused.

The problem is with a document like this, accusations that the government politicized the process and the results will always come up, since this is a government sanctioned document. However, with prominent non partisan Canadians such as Jack Granatstein and Adrienne Clarkson being on the advisory panel on what should be in this document, that argument about government interference barely holds a grain of salt.

Secondly, what Liberals and NDPers don't realize is that they themselves in a way are politicizing citizenship as well. They are complaining that the information about the Charter was not prominently displayed, nor was same sex marriage mentioned anywhere. I looked in the booklet, and the Charter is mentioned in detail regarding the rights of every Canadian. Just because the font wasn't big enough, or was limited to one page, doesn't mean it isn't there. By saying that same sex marriage, a Liberal-NDP initiative, was not mentioned, those parties risk politicizing the process by insisting that it be mentioned. And since same sex marriage today is still split down the middle in terms of support from Canadians, it is not fair to suggest to new Canadians that there is unanimity on the issue by saying as a citizen, same sex marriage is Canadian.

There's too much mention of the military, so what? In the current situation that we are in with Afghanistan and reasserting our role in the world, learning about Canada's military history might not be a bad thing. It would definitley give new Canadians from countries who might not appreciate Western power flexing a different perspective as to why we do what we do around the globe. To be in a state of denial about Canada as a country with a military seems, in my view, a tad disrespectful to those who serve and have served.

That's my two cents. Take it or leave it.