Celine Dion in the citizenship guide? Yes, but not for now
Residents of the country seeking Canadian citizenship will benefit from a period of time to deepen their knowledge of stars such as Celine Dion, Drake or even the athlete Maurice Richard. These will be included in the next version of the citizenship guide, which is long overdue.
While history continues its inexorable course, the updating of the document, awaited for ten years in particular to better reflect the contemporary period and to rectify historical errors of the previous version, would not be not yet finalized.
Towards a “comprehensive, diverse-and-honest” manual
Immigration Canada had announced that changes would be made to this manual retracing the history and culture of the country with the maple leaf, in order to make it a “comprehensive, diversified and honest” document, which would abolish “outdated ideas, in particular in regarding indigenous peoples”, reports Radio-Canada, quoting the former Minister of Immigration, Marco Mendicino, in 2021.
The dark chapter of residential schools and the discovery of Aboriginal children's graves across the country are passages of national history that the new version of the guide should highlight. The emphasis should also be placed on the notion of systemic racism and offer a wider range of Canadian personalities, according to Radio-Canada, in addition to including the Quebec diva, The Rocket, and the Ontario singer.
Initially planned for 2017, this new citizenship guide has not yet seen the light of day. Its launch date remains unknown as Ottawa “continues to work on the guide, related study materials and the new citizenship test,” said Nancy Caron, spokesperson for Immigration Canada.
The latter adds that consultations have been carried out so that “the guide is more historically balanced and more inclusive of the history of Canada and the people who make it up”.
