“No country in the world welcomes more new citizens per capita than Canada”.
Upon leaving office as Governor-General, Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul established the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC). The ICC seeks to engage Canadians in conversations about citizenship.
The ICC wants to “bridge the gap between the newly-arrived immigrant and fully engaged citizen“. The goals of the ICC are to:
• enhance citizenship ceremonies
• increase awareness of, disseminate information concerning and promote successful
grassroots immigrant support programs
• provide forums for national non-partisan information exchanges and discussions on issues
related to immigration and citizenship
• analyze and disseminate existing research on issues related to citizenship.
A sweet little slip of a statement by a seven-year-old at a recent citizenship ceremony is all there is with regard to children. This child’s positive experience likely does not reflect the reality of many children who arrive on Canada’s shores and seek citizenship. The child-as-citizen is an important addition to any discussion of “citizenship” and needs to be more fully addressed in this initiative. To contact the ICC: icc@icc-icc.ca.
