Committee girls. I am sure there were the committee boys, too, in junior high but in my life it was the committee girls had many colours of pen and used them to underline different sorts of significance in their homework. They wanted to organize you and improve you. I think the children of the committee were tasked to create the new immigration guide for new Canadians:
Mr. Griffiths said civic literacy, regardless of political nuance, is important to the success of Canada's immigration system. "In a country as diverse as Canada, we need certain common touchstones." Debbie Douglas, executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said newcomers will be better served by a guide that captures the "true story" of what it means to be Canadian. "Citizenship is a two-way street," she said. "There are rights, but there are also responsibilities to know the country and help build it."
Anyone tell the neighbours?
You know, I am all for a beefier Canadian identity. You should know how many were in the trenches in WWI as well as how stupid the British generals and politicians were who sent them into battle. Being an immigrant's kid, I had to learn it on the street. No, identity is good. But does that identity make you a good little worker bee or more you? By this I mean a huge number of Canadians who drink rye whisky and root for CFL teams. Are these things in the guide? Are there hints like Crown Royal is only for special occasions? I don't know that I would be happy if the guide didn't include the word "Ti-Cats." Can you really be Canadian without knowing the word Ti-Cat?
Comments
Hans - November 12, 2009 10:05 AM
oskie-wee-wee oskie-wah-wah....
Alan - November 12, 2009 11:31 AM
That should be part of the induction ceremony. Happy to see the rejection of things barbaric, too. Unless we are cultivating a relationship with the Barbary Coast.
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 12:00 AM
If you're going to talk to them about the stupid pols and stupid British generals, you also need to talk about the brilliant Canadian general, who was knighted on the battlefield by King George V.
Anyway, I say start with cheesy ads for not-so-great Canadian beer.
[The ad I want to find -- from the early '90s, called "Friends", with the Molson Ex song. Someday, someone will upload it. Or I'll hook up a VCR to my laptop and capture it from my 20th anniversary special for the Summit Series...]
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 12:37 AM
Am reading through the PDF of the guide now.
It seems quite decent.
I wonder if it will live up to the most awesome Canadian history book I know of, which I've just ordered a copy of -- "Heritage of Canada", a coffee table book put out by the CAA and Reader's Digest in the 1970s. It was meant to get people driving around and visiting places.
It was wonderful -- lots of stories, and fights, and... there even was a sidebar about Sir John A's drunkenness. How can you hate on a history book like that?
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 12:43 AM
History section is not bad. It's a heck of a lot better than what I've seen in previous versions.
On the other hand, I wouldn't mention various things and then say "the Canadian government apologized in year XXXX". Kinda lame.
That little quibble aside, it's the sort of document that I'm very okay with. Outlines democratic values, history, tradition. The stuff we want newcomers to know.
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 12:53 AM
And now that I'm through it all -- I like it.
It looks like it was rather hastily done, but it's a darned sight better than anything I've seen from the government to date -- it actually deals with the whole of Canadian history.
It can be improved, but it's already a vast improvement on what was out there.
Hans - November 13, 2009 8:46 AM
Maybe we should send it to current citizens too....
Alan - November 13, 2009 8:57 AM
We could take away citizenship if they fail. It should probably be distributed in PEI just to introduce the idea that there is actually a country that they are associated with.
Hans - November 13, 2009 9:09 AM
You mean that place called "away" is a country?
Alan - November 13, 2009 9:11 AM
Yes - not just a bank account. It comes with people who don't care, too.
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 9:51 AM
I enjoy it when the PEI-bashing starts around these here parts...
Alan - November 13, 2009 10:22 AM
I like to think of as description, not bashing.
Besides, no one else dares.
portland - November 13, 2009 3:29 PM
canadian general - knighted? i'd like to know more about that.
Matthew Fletcher - November 13, 2009 4:40 PM
General Sir Arthur W. Currie, KCMG, KCB, soldier extraordinaire, all-around outstanding Canadian, and one of the most important Principal's and Vice-Chancellor's in the history of McGill University.
See the following for the briefest of introductions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Currie
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002084
http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/currie.htm
Alan - November 13, 2009 5:14 PM
"Currie was designated as a National Historic Person of Canada"!!!
I had no idea. Now I have something to aim for in life, being a NHPC.
Ben (The Tiger) - November 13, 2009 5:22 PM
One more bit on Currie -- go here for a picture of him being knighted by the King.