Becoming A Canadian Citizen: the process is both too hard and too Easy
Something about becoming Canadian started bothering me the day I received a letter from immigration. It was a letter requesting my attendance at a citizenship test in less than two weeks, as well as a citizenship ceremony the following day pending a pass.
It bothered me more than paying $200 to apply for citizenship (after paying other landed immigrant and permanent resident fees). And more than having to wait for almost a year to become Canadian.
The letter told me I needed to attend both the test and ceremony in Kingston, which is far away from Toronto, where I go to university during the year. Even worse, there was no person or no phone number listed who I could contact if I couldn't attend the test. I was told that I would simply have to miss the test, wait to be invited to a new one and if I couldn't attend the second test I would have to meet with a citizenship judge.
To avoid this, I canceled shifts at work, missed a staff meeting and skipped three classes. But what if I couldn't? As a student, it was easy enough for me to cancel my priorities and take off, but there are some people with less lenient employers and other demands. For example, single immigrant parents who might not know someone who can look after their children.
Luckily, I passed the test, so it wasn't all for nothing. But there really wasn't any luck involved, because the Canadian citizenship test is ridiculously easy. An example of questions that were on my test are: What colours is the Canadian flag made up of? Who can vote? What responsibilities do citizens have?
The test is comprised of 20 multiple choice questions but only 12 must be answered correctly. That's 60 per cent. It seems low considering the government sends a guide called "A Look at Canada" with all the test's answers and sample questions at the back.
I don't think that citizenship should be made difficult to acquire. It's just that if permanent residents are paying $200 to take a test that's hyped up as the determiner of whether he or she is worthy of becoming Canadian, shouldn't it actually determine something? Or not exist at all.
Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism is focused on changing the content of the test, he's said that he wants more emphasis on Canadian democratic institutions and history. He also wants immigration officials to enforce that citizens must have a basic competency in either English or French.
It seems that the test isn't meeting his goals. So why stick with it? What about other options? Like a citizenship and language course that applicants can enroll in themselves, at a time that's convenient for them.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 15:06
It bothered me more than paying $200 to apply for citizenship (after paying other landed immigrant and permanent resident fees). And more than having to wait for almost a year to become Canadian.
The letter told me I needed to attend both the test and ceremony in Kingston, which is far away from Toronto, where I go to university during the year. Even worse, there was no person or no phone number listed who I could contact if I couldn't attend the test. I was told that I would simply have to miss the test, wait to be invited to a new one and if I couldn't attend the second test I would have to meet with a citizenship judge.
To avoid this, I canceled shifts at work, missed a staff meeting and skipped three classes. But what if I couldn't? As a student, it was easy enough for me to cancel my priorities and take off, but there are some people with less lenient employers and other demands. For example, single immigrant parents who might not know someone who can look after their children.
Luckily, I passed the test, so it wasn't all for nothing. But there really wasn't any luck involved, because the Canadian citizenship test is ridiculously easy. An example of questions that were on my test are: What colours is the Canadian flag made up of? Who can vote? What responsibilities do citizens have?
The test is comprised of 20 multiple choice questions but only 12 must be answered correctly. That's 60 per cent. It seems low considering the government sends a guide called "A Look at Canada" with all the test's answers and sample questions at the back.
I don't think that citizenship should be made difficult to acquire. It's just that if permanent residents are paying $200 to take a test that's hyped up as the determiner of whether he or she is worthy of becoming Canadian, shouldn't it actually determine something? Or not exist at all.
Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism is focused on changing the content of the test, he's said that he wants more emphasis on Canadian democratic institutions and history. He also wants immigration officials to enforce that citizens must have a basic competency in either English or French.
It seems that the test isn't meeting his goals. So why stick with it? What about other options? Like a citizenship and language course that applicants can enroll in themselves, at a time that's convenient for them.
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