Finally a Canadian citizen

June 18, 2015 · 0 Comments

Last week it was my privilege and honour to watch my co-worker at the Shelburne Free Press and her son become Canadian Citizens.
Debbie Freeman came to Canada from Great Britain in October 2002 with her infant son and has resided in Shelburne ever since. Why Shelburne? Because as Debbie says, she already had family who lived in Shelburne and Mono so it only made sense to move here as opposed to anywhere else in Canada.
Although Debbie was considered a landed immigrant, and with that she was able to work legally, she was never able to vote and have her voice heard at any elections. The process to become a Canadian Citizen can be a long road, however a very rewarding one. First you must be a landed immigrant to be eligible to apply to become a Citizen. Once you apply you must qualify in order to go to the next step in the process which is writing the Citizen test. If you pass and are granted Citizenship your are then invited to ceremony. It all sounds straight forward and easy, however this process can take years to happen.
The ceremony for Debbie and her son was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and I was in total awe at the 44 people in attendance who choose Canada to become their home. Upon entering the courtroom where these people from all over the globe were about to become Canadian they each had to complete paperwork to begin the process. Next a judge entered the room and spoke about becoming a Canadian citizen, what it meant and what their responsibilities were. Next was what I found to be the most tear jerking part of the ceremony for me, where every single person becoming a citizen swore the oath to Canada in both English and French. After that we all sang the national anthem together and then each of them had to resign paperwork stating that they were now Canadian.
Most people will never in their lifetime get to witness this ceremony that I attended and see the pride and joy in each and every person’s eyes and the smile on their faces when they received their Certificate of Canadian Citizenship. Next to watching my grandson being born, this was one of the most amazing things I have ever had the pleasure to witness.
To Debbie her son Joe and all the others who became Canadian Citizens that day I, like The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P said on your Certificate, Congratulations you are now a part of our Canadian family!

By Michelle Austen