Oath of allegiance to Queen stays as requirement to obtain citizenship

2015/02/28 Leave a comment

No surprise that the ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court. Oath should be changed, but should be through political process, not the courts.

Would-be Canadians will have to keep taking an oath to the Queen after the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday refused to hear a challenge to the citizenship requirement.

The decision by the top court leaves intact an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the “symbolic” oath.

At issue is a provision in the Citizenship Act that requires would-be citizens to swear to be “faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors.”

Oath of allegiance to Queen stays as requirement to obtain citizenship – Politics – CBC News.

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Smith: Supreme Court must address citizenship oath | Ottawa Citizen

2014/08/23 Leave a comment

Not everything needs to be decided by the Courts, given that requiring the current wording of the Oath, while objectionable to some, is not as fundamental breach of rights as in other cases where the Courts have ruled against the Government.

Better to have this addressed by the political process as almost happened in the past:

Aspiring citizens do not get these freedoms if they contractually promise allegiance to the Crown. Freedom of speech and the Crown’s legal authority already exist, regardless of the oath.

When I became a lawyer over a decade ago, I chose not to swear the regal oath. The choice I made did not hurt Canada, because the words had not made Canada any better.

Nor did it make me any less committed to Canada. It simply expressed, through quiet protest, my political opinion that hereditary British rule is morally wrong in today’s Canada, a view that millions of Canadians share.

The forced regal words were not justifiable for Ontario police officers, lawyers, school children or school board members, or federal public servants. They are not justifiable for citizenship applicants either.

The Supreme Court must step in, respect the evidence and declare the words optional for any citizenship applicant who does not want to express them based on personal democratic opinions.

Smith: Supreme Court must address citizenship oath | Ottawa Citizen.

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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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