511)OVERVIEW, The Harper Government's Citizenship Guide:Discover Canada,The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship;Quotes of Minister Jason Kenney

Among the tens of thousands of people from six continents who visit my Blog there must be a significant number who may show an interest in becoming Canadian citizens now or in the future. Consequently I am showcasing on my Blog the Stephen Harper Conservative Government's magnificent new Citizenship Guide for prospective Canadian citizens unveiled on November 12th 2009, the day after Rememberance Day. When I read the online version of this booklet I came away feeling a deep sense of awe and admiration for the country I have lived in for the past 36 years, 5 as a landed immigrant and 31 as a citizen. Indeed this booklet should not just be required reading for prospective Canadians but also for established Canadian citizens of all ages. It's always refreshing to remind ourselves about our secular democracy-its evolution, history, system of government, regions, rights and responsibilities, justice system, economy, symbols, achievements and much, much more. The text of the booklet has been carefully researched and well written and the many photographs wisely chosen. While I have reproduced all the text from the Guide in the following Blogposts one cannot fully appreciate the material without also looking at the photographs and their captions. For that reason each Blogpost has two links to the original page on the Citizenship And Immigration Canada(CIC) website, one at the beginning and one at the end of the post.

On another forum I made the following comment to commemorate Rememberance Day on November 11th 2009: Canada is a stable secular democratic state with a solid, longstanding and admirable history. It is not a disparate bunch of autonomous multicultural fiefdoms as some political parties would have you beleive. Canada is the Magna Carta(1215), War of 1812, British North America Act(1867), Boer War(1899-1902), Vimy Ridge, Ypres and Paschendale(1914-1918), Dieppe, Monte Cassino, D-Day, Juno Beach, Belgium and Holland(1939-1945), Korean War(1950-1953), Cold War(1917-1989), Vietnam War(1960's) and Afghanistan(post 2001).


http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/index.asp

Study Guide – Discover Canada
The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

OVERVIEW

Discover Canada: the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship was introduced on November 12, 2009. Study the old guide, A Look at Canada, if your test or interview is scheduled before the end of February 2010.

For more information, please see the frequently asked questions on the new citizenship guide and test.

Contents
The Oath of Citizenship
Message to Our Readers
Applying for Citizenship
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship
Who We Are
Canada’s History
Modern Canada
How Canadians Govern Themselves
Federal Elections
The Justice System
Canadian Symbols
Canada’s Economy
Canada’s Regions
For More Information
Acknowledgements and Photo Credits


Discover Canada is also available in PDF format [Size: 2.75 MB]. To view this file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If the Adobe download site is not accessible to you, you can download Acrobat Reader from an accessible page. You can also visit the Adobe site for online conversion tools for PDF documents.

Help us serve you better! Tell us what you think of this publication at
www.cic.gc.ca/feedback.

© Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2009This document is available in multiple formats upon request.

Catalogue No. Ci1-11/2009E
ISBN 978-1-100-12739-2
C&I 1049-09-09

For a print copy of this publication, please contact:
Distribution Services
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Fax: 613-954-2221
Email: Distributionservices-servicesdesdistribution@cic.gc.ca

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/index.asp

Quotes Of Canadian Minister Of Citizenship, Immigration And Multiculturalism Hon. Jason Kenney(2009):

1)When you become a citizen, you're not just getting a travel document into Hotel Canada.

2)I think it's scandalous that someone could become a Canadian not knowing what the poppy represents, or never having heard of Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Dieppe or Juno Beach.

3)We mention freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as important rights but we also make it very clear that our laws prohibit barbaric cultural practices, they will not be tolerated, whether or not someone claims that such practices are protected by reference to religion.

4)I think we need to reclaim a deeper sense of citizenship, a sense of shared obligations to one another, to our past, as well as to the future, a kind of civic nationalism where people understand the institutions, values and symbols that are rooted in our history.

Easy Nash