Canada studies Britain’s ‘nudge unit’ for ways to give the public a push – The Globe and Mail

2013/08/01 Leave a comment

A good initiative as some of these soft techniques – providing less intrusive ways to influence behaviour rather than heavier regulation – are worth exploring, despite the inevitable criticism of nanny statism.

The changes in citizenship language requirements and procedures essentially tried to nudge people to doing citizenship testing up front through a faster process. Unfortunately, given the abysmal processing capacity and backlog – more than 2 years to become a citizen, largely moot.

Canada studies Britain’s ‘nudge unit’ for ways to give the public a push – The Globe and Mail.

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Critics accuse the Conservative Party of ‘politicizing history’ as national museum mandates change | National Post

2013/07/31 Leave a comment

More debate on the mandate of the new national history museum. Removal of the phrase ‘critical understanding’ is significant, and reflects a change in substance and tone. Ironic, given one of the valid criticisms of the Canada Hall was its Disneyland-like airbrushing of Canadian history.

All governments struggle with how to cover and portray their history and the balance between reinforcing a national narrative while being honest about the less uplifting parts. See Margaret MacMillan’s The Uses and Abuses of History for a great discussion and examples

via Critics accuse the Conservative Party of ‘politicizing history’ as national museum mandates change | National Post.

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Canada’s misguided monarchists

2013/07/30 Leave a comment

Andrew Cohen’s take on the monarchy. He makes a valid point about how our general fascination with celebrities, and celebrity culture, overwhelms the substance of the monarchy. But I don’t share the urgency of the ‘natural evolution’ and shedding the monarchy; it is part of our history and heritage, is fully embedded in our institutions, generally works well, and change would be a distraction to more pressing issues. On the other hand, changing the oath ….

Canada’s misguided monarchists.

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How Stephen Harper is rewriting history – Canada – Macleans.ca

2013/07/29 Leave a comment

Good overview on the remake of the Canadian Museum of Civilization into the Canadian Museum of History, and the likely narrowing of focus and messaging. While the CMC was ‘content light’, my experience taking visitors around from many countries is that the Canada Hall gave them a powerful image of the diversity and evolution of Canada.

And some of Jack Granatstein’s lament in Who Killed Canadian History seemed exaggerated as our kids went through their primary and high school education with a reasonable amount of ‘traditional’ history in addition to social history. Not to say a refresh is not warranted, but hopefully less jingoistic than the War of 1812 celebrations.

How Stephen Harper is rewriting history – Canada – Macleans.ca.

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French niqab law deserves support | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun

2013/07/29 Leave a comment

While I have no patience for the niqab on any number of levels, as it is a rejection of an open and integrated society, an outright ban in all circumstances is another matter. A more selective approach where there are clear identification and security reasons (e.g., airports, public transport, government offices), or where the impact on social cohesion is significant (e.g., schools, citizenship ceremonies) is preferable.

In a democratic society, people have choices on how much to engage or not. And society has a choice on how far to accommodate such practices or not as well.

But when columnists state Saudi Arabia as a model for non-negotiations, the debate has sunk very low.

French niqab law deserves support | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun.

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Memo to Chris Alexander, Canada’s new immigration minister | Toronto Star

2013/07/26 Leave a comment

The contrary view to Minister Kenney’s achievements as Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. Not a balanced take, but highlights the challenges of defining and finding balance given the range of interests and perspectives.

Memo to Chris Alexander, Canada’s new immigration minister | Toronto Star.

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ATIP Documents – Batch 2 – Delayed

2013/07/24 Leave a comment

Now formally overdue as of 22 July.

But with a perverse sense of humour – sending me the English and French 2010 Discover Canada citizenship study guide, a public document. Waste of postage.

Meanwhile we wait some substantive documents.

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Sorry, republicans, the monarchy is here to stay – The Globe and Mail

2013/07/24 Leave a comment

Good overview of the embedded nature of the Crown and Monarchy in Canada.

Sorry, republicans, the monarchy is here to stay – The Globe and Mail.

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The Queen and I find middle ground – The Globe and Mail

2013/07/22 Leave a comment

Nice piece by Ratna Omidvar on how one’s background influences one’s perception of the Monarchy and the citizenship oath. Warm embrace of our British heritage, despite the difficult elements of British Colonial history for some groups.

Despite the efforts of Discover Canada and related publications to explain the role of the Crown in the Canadian system, discussion tends to revolve around the question what should the wording of the Canadian citizenship oath be within context of our current system of government.

The Queen and I find middle ground – The Globe and Mail.

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Citizenship and the Prophet principle – FT.com

2013/07/22 Leave a comment

An interesting summary of a collection of essays on citizenship and sharia, largely written from the perspective that it is preferable not to go down the road of separate religious tribunals, and ending up on the need for greater engagement by Muslim men and women with mainstream life, rather than the more esoteric debates over English law and sharia.

Citizenship and the Prophet principle – FT.com.

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