A viewpoint on virtual citizen ship appointments: 'Don't do it' - you cheapen the process of a person becoming a citizen

By Staff

April 8th,  2023

BURLINGTON, ON

It will be some time before we become fully aware about what changed us forever as a result of the pandemic.

Now into our fourth year the restrictions are much less onerous.  But the scientists seem to believe that this one isn’t over yet.

New Canadians being sworn in at a Burlington Canada Day event. In the lower left corner former Former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – The Late Lincoln Alexander and wife Marni Beal Alexander.

For much of the pandemic we had to meet virtually and for many of those occasions it made sense to do just that.  People found that Zooming could cut down a lot of the travel time involved in pulling groups of people together.

Many organizations chose to use the pandemic as an opportunity to change the way business and some commerce is done.

The City of Burlington chose to make all their council meetings virtual events – it was mandatory at first but now it is described is as an opportunity to choose what is most efficient.

The city of Burlington seems to have adopted the hybrid approach – live or virtual – whichever you prefer – the result being that if the weather was not favourable you could stay in your PJ’s and attend the meeting on line.  One Council member attempted to Chair a meeting from his living room.

The City Manager decided that some staff members could be permanently virtual – coming into the office for just the Christmas Party.

The Late Peter Appleyard serving as a Citizenship Judge was a British–Canadian jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer. He died in 2013

One Burlington resident got very miffed when he spotted what he took is as an attempt to turn the Citizenship ceremonies into virtual event. He spoke up about the ‘virtual citizenship’ idea and was horrified to find that the government was putting together plans to eliminate in-person citizenship ceremonies, apparently to “clear the backlog”.

He asked MP Karina Gould to “please persuade your government to abandon this travesty saying that Citizenship ceremonies are a cherished, important step of becoming Canadian” and then added that he would “volunteer my time and effort to perform such a ceremony in my area. I am in no way a judge, or Order of Canada recipient, but I am retired, have the time, and certainly the willingness to preside at such an event if there is a way to be deputized for this purpose.”

The federal government had already said they had “resumed in-person ceremonies and are also offering a  virtual option for faster, more accessible services for our clients.”

Staff from the Office of MP Gould wrote that they are “… are all ears on our proposed changes to the Citizenship Act to give applicants access to self-administer the Oath of Citizenship, without the presence of an authorized official.”

A citizen responded: “Our citizenship is so much more than a legal status. It is our daily acts and the duties and responsibilities that come with them that make us Canadians.

The proposed regulations on self-administration, citizenship applicants would not require a witness.

“Sorry”, said our citizen “not good enough. What is proposed is as sterile as getting a license plate at Service Ontario, unworthy and disrespectful of a new citizen who has dreamed and worked hard to become one. And I don’t like the idea of a citizen being thought of as a ‘client’, and I hope Minister Gould doesn’t either.”

So if you are ‘all ears’, please hear this: Don’t Do It !

 

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3 comments to A viewpoint on virtual citizen ship appointments: ‘Don’t do it’ – you cheapen the process of a person becoming a citizen

  • Joe Gaetan

    Really they “… are all ears on our proposed changes to the Citizenship Act to give applicants access to self-administer the Oath of Citizenship, without the presence of an authorized official.”? How do cockamamy ideas like this take flight anyway??? Next, virtual border guards. Anything to declare? Nope. Any tobacco or firearms? NOPE. Welcome to Canada.

  • Blair Smith

    I could not agree more. Frankly, the whole idea of a citizenship ceremony devoid of ‘pomp and ceremony’ is just awful. We seem to be losing the ability to celebrate the quite wonderful thing that we, as Canadians, are.

    I can imagine King Charles doing his coronation virtually with perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury on Zoom. His oath before God – alley, alley oxen free – crown to last standing. My God it’s me!!

    Born to the wrong age I think – My God that’s me.