Royal Swearing

From the Globe and Mail:
"Would-be Canadian citizens set to fight oath to Queen"

A small group of landed immigrants with republican views who have refused Canadian citizenship because the ceremony involves swearing an oath to the Queen will be in a Toronto courtroom on Friday, facing off with the federal government in an attempt to have this citizenship requirement declared unconstitutional. But with a royal baby on the way, and a federal government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper that has dedicated itself to reviving the country’s connection to the monarchy – restoring the word Royal to the Royal Canadian Air Force, among other measures – the dissenters may have their work cut out for them. In court, the federal government is set to argue simply that immigrants who disagree with the idea of a hereditary head of state, and refuse to swear an oath of loyalty, do not deserve the benefits of citizenship. “The inability to enjoy the benefits of citizenship – to hold a Canadian passport and to vote – are amongst the costs reasonably borne by individuals whose personal beliefs run contrary to Canada’s foundational constitutional structure,” a lawyer for the federal Attorney-General says in written arguments submitted in advance of Friday’s hearing. Friday’s court fight is the latest chapter in more than 20 years of failed legal challenges to the citizenship oath spearheaded by Trinidadian-born Toronto activist and lawyer Charles Roach, who died last year at 79, never having become a Canadian citizen. The legal application in court Friday seeks to have the part of the oath that refers to swearing allegiance to “Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, her Heirs and Successors” struck down because it violates the protections for freedom of religion and conscience in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration said the government had no plans to change the oath “Canadian citizenship is an honour and a privilege,” spokeswoman Sonia Lesage said. “The government has been working hard to maintain the integrity of the system and to increase the value of Canadian citizenship.”

^ I have to agree with the Canadian Government. If would-be Canadians don't like swearing an oath to the Queen (or King) of Canada then they shouldn't become Canadians. Canada has a long history of monarchism - even though many ordinary Canadians don't understand what it truly means - and until the Canadian public and/or Government decides to become a republic and do away with the Monarch then new citizens should be required to swear loyalty to the Queen as she is the head of the country. One thing the Ministry of  Citizenship needs to address is allowing Canadians born in the second-generation outside of Canada to at least one Canadian parent to pass on their Canadian citizenship to their children born outside of Canada. I am considered a native (ie non-naturalized) Canadian and yet can never pass on my Canadian citizenship to my children if they are born outside of Canada. That is true discrimination - not having new citizens swear loyalty to the Monarch. ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/would-be-canadian-citizens-set-to-fight-oath-to-queen-as-discriminatory/article13160104/