JUSTICE FUND: CITIZENSHIP OATH

The following is public interest commentary - NOT legal opinion or advice

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CANADA is a constitutional monarchy. And, citizenship requires the oath of allegiance to Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors - unless you are born within Canada. The birth certificate does NOT include an oath to the monarch or the country.

The CANADA OATH of ALLEGIANCE :

(WIKIPEDIA) The Oath of Citizenship is today a legally binding oral and written contract intended to ensure that new Canadian citizens promise to obey the laws and customs of their new country, fulfil their duties as citizens, and recognize the authority of the monarch as the personification of the state and various entities and concepts.^[8]^[9]"

Cited from Wikipedia : Its current form is as follows: "I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.^[10]"

Prior to 1947, Canadian law continued to refer to Canadian nationals as British subjects,^[3] despite the country being since 1931 independent from the United Kingdom. As the country shared the same person as its sovereign with the other countries of the then British Commonwealth, people immigrating from those states were not required to recite any oath upon immigration to Canada; those coming from a non-Commonwealth country would take the Oath of Allegiance. When India became a republic in 1950, however, the Commonwealth thereafter contained countries that did not recognize as their own that monarch shared amongst the Commonwealth realms, though still regarding that individual as Head of the Commonwealth.

With potential new Commonwealth immigrants who did not already owe allegiance to Canada's shared sovereign, the Parliament of Canada thus enacted the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946, which came into effect on 1 January of the following year. New immigrants were then required to recite the Oath of Allegiance for Purposes of Citizenship, which was an adaptation of the original Oath of Allegiance: "I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George the Sixth, His Heirs and Successors, according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen"; Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was the first person to take this oath.^[4] Though new citizens were thereafter required by law to recite the Oath of Citizenship, on 1 April 1949, 359,000 Newfoundlanders became Canadian citizens without taking the oath, when the British crown colony joined Canadian Confederation.^[5]

By the mid-1970s, it was thought that because Canada had a shared monarch the Oath of Citizenship should clarify for new citizens that the fealty they were offering was specifically to the monarch in her capacity as the Canadian head of state, rather than, for example, the head of state of Jamaica or of the United Kingdom. Thus, as part of an amendment to the Citizenship Act in 1977, the words Queen of Canada were inserted after the Queen's name and the oath was officially named the Canadian Citizenship Oath. This new format maintained the traditional assertion of allegiance to the monarch, but also inserted the name of the country three times in a way consistent with Canada's status as a constitutional monarchy—i.e., in a monarchy the state is personified, not treated as an abstraction or a corporation.^[6]^[7]^[8]

____________________________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

SECTION ONE : CANADA CITIZENSHIP OATH

WHO CAN BECOME A CANADIAN CITIZEN ???

To become a Canadian citizen (note: WIKI)

You must be a permanent resident of Canada and 18 years of age or older . Children under 18 years of age and persons adopted by Canadians can also become citizens, but they do not have to meet the same requirements as adults (see “Applying for children” and “Citizenship for persons adopted outside Canada”).

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW :

You must demonstrate knowledge of Canada

You must understand the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, such as voting in elections, obeying the law, and helping others in the community. You must also demonstrate knowledge of Canada’s government, history, symbols and geography. If you are applying as an adult and are not yet 55 years of age, you will need to pass the citizenship test, which could be a written test or an interview with a citizenship judge. When we begin to process your application, we will send you an acknowledgment letter and a copy of the citizenship study guide Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. This guide will help you prepare for your citizenship written test and/or interview. The guide is also available on our official website and can be consulted any time (www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/index.asp ).

CHILDREN

Applying for children

Parents or persons who have custody may apply for citizenship on behalf of minor children (under 18 years of age). One parent, including an adoptive parent, must already be a Canadian citizen or must be applying to become a citizen at the same time. If a child has a Canadian legal guardian but no Canadian parent (natural or adoptive), the child is not eligible for citizenship. To become citizens, minor children need to be permanent residents but do not need to have lived in Canada for three years. Minor children do not have to write the citizenship test or meet the language requirement.

WHO CANNOT BECOME A CANADIAN CITIZEN ???

In general, you cannot become a Canadian citizen if:

• you are in prison, on parole or on probation (serving a sentence);

• in the past four years, you were in prison, on parole or on probation for more than a year;

• you were convicted of an indictable offence (a crime) under any Act of Parliament, or an offence under the Citizenship Act, in the three years preceding your application;

• you are currently charged with an indictable offence (a crime) under any Act of Parliament, or an offence under the Citizenship Act;

• you are under a removal order (instructed by Canadian officials to leave Canada);

• you are under investigation for, are charged with, or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity; or

• your Canadian citizenship has been taken away (revoked) in the past five years.

The items listed above are prohibitions—factors that could prevent you from becoming a Canadian citizen. The application form contains questions on these prohibitions, and you must answer them truthfully when you apply for

citizenship. If you think you may not qualify because you have been charged with a crime or you have a criminal record, or if you need more information on this subject, contact us (see “Contact Information” at the end of this

publication).

To become a Canadian citizen

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW :

You must demonstrate knowledge of Canada

CHILDREN

Applying for children