Statutory authority
Citizenship Act
Sponsoring department
Department of Citizenship and Immigration
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Issue and objectives
Adults applying for a grant of citizenship are currently required under the Citizenship Act to demonstrate “an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.” The criteria for determining that an applicant has an adequate knowledge in these areas are outlined in the Citizenship Regulations. These criteria form the basis of questions used to assess a citizenship applicant’s knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.
A new citizenship study guide, Discover Canada: the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, was published in November 2009. The publication of Discover Canada and the related changes to the citizenship test are key initial activities of the Citizenship Action Plan (CAP). The goal of CAP is to encourage Canadians to value, understand and practice their citizenship, thus making citizenship more meaningful.
Discover Canada includes more comprehensive information on the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens, and on Canada’s values, symbols, history and military achievements. In particular, the new guide features topics such as responsible government, Remembrance Day, the Québécois nation and the Quiet Revolution, gender equality, the impact of residential schools on Aboriginal people, and our role in world wars and other historical conflicts. The guide also features expanded sections on Canadian heroes, sports, diversity and artists. This new focus on the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship reinforces that citizenship entails reciprocal obligations between citizens and the state and will help to better prepare applicants for citizenship and enrich their understanding of what it means to be Canadian.
The launch of the new citizenship study guide, Discover Canada, necessitates revisions to the citizenship test to enable applicants to be tested on the new information contained in the study guide. CIC introduced an interim test in March 2010 that is based on the content of Discover Canada, but as per the current Regulations, it does not require applicants to demonstrate a broad knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.
Regulatory change is required to enable a more complete assessment of knowledge against the breadth of content of Discover Canada and to require an understanding of a range of responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. This would support introducing a test that is fully consistent with CAP principles.
Description and rationale
Greater flexibility is required in the Regulations to be able to test applicants consistently on a range of knowledge of the characteristics of Canada, rather than on a single characteristic. All of the elements below are considered important in demonstrating a fundamental understanding of Canada. Such an understanding of Canada should include an understanding of its system of government. The Regulations would therefore benefit from the inclusion of a category related to Canada’s system of government.
Regulatory amendments would also be necessary in order to require applicants to successfully demonstrate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship outside of elections and voting procedures (as described in the bullets below).
The proposed amendments would support changes to the test that clarify the requirement for applicants to know the national symbols of Canada and demonstrate an adequate knowledge of the following:
- a range of responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, such as
- participation in the Canadian democratic process;
- participation in Canadian society, including volunteerism, respect for the environment and the protection of Canada’s natural, cultural and architectural heritage; and
- respect for the rights, freedoms and obligations set out in the laws governing Canada; and
- a broad range of knowledge of Canada’s characteristics such as
- the chief characteristics of Canadian political and military history;
- the chief characteristics of Canadian social and cultural history;
- the chief characteristics of Canadian physical and political geography; and
- the chief characteristics of the Canadian system of government as a constitutional monarchy.
The proposed regulatory changes would promote an enhanced understanding of Canadian identity and values and of the responsibilities of citizenship. The pass rate is not expected to decrease compared to the pass rate for the interim test.
The work done in connection with the implementation of the interim test in March 2010 means that most of the costs associated with developing test questions based on Discover Canada content have already been borne. Additional costs associated with further revisions to the test once the new Regulations are in place are expected to be minimal, and there are no incremental costs associated with printing new tests or changes to the marking scheme resulting from the regulatory change.
There may be a minor one-time cost associated with monitoring the impact of the new test on applicants; it is not expected to exceed $75,000. There would be no additional costs to the permanent resident of learning new material, as it is all contained in Discover Canada, which is provided free of charge to applicants.
Consultation
In developing Discover Canada, CIC consulted with a panel of prominent Canadians, including public figures, authors and historians. Drafts of the new guide were also reviewed by well-known organizations and individuals involved in citizenship promotion, such as the Historica-Dominion Institute, Rudyard Griffiths, Dr. John Ralston Saul, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Several government departments and agencies were also consulted, including Canadian Heritage, Elections Canada and Veterans Affairs Canada. Consultations primarily took place between April and September 2009. Initial consultations sought suggestions for improvement based on the then current guide, A Look at Canada. As drafts of the revised guide were developed, the nature of the advice provided for consideration ranged from general to specific commentary focussed on the style and content of the drafts. Comments on the content were numerous and included more precision on historical dates/events and input on virtually every chapter of the document. The final draft is a reflection of the many comments received and incorporated in the development of Discover Canada. The reaction to the publication of Discover Canada has generally been positive.
Implementation, enforcement and service standards
The proposed amendments entail minimal implementation requirements or incremental costs. Operational guidelines as well as the delivery of the new tests to local offices would be required and could be absorbed as a part of regular activities.
An implementation Working Group comprised of CIC officials from all branches and divisions affected by these changes was established to ensure all necessary procedures, systems support and communication tools were in place for changes to the citizenship test implemented in March 2010 to reflect changes to the study guide. The products created for the March 2010 implementation will serve as a guide for future changes to the test that would be enabled by the proposed regulatory amendment.
CIC would monitor the results of the new citizenship testing regime in 2010.
The proposed regulatory amendments are not expected to have a significant impact on processing times for citizenship applications.
Nicole Girard
Director
Legislation and Program Policy
Citizenship Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
365 Laurier Avenue W
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Telephone: 613-991-2153
Fax: 613-954-9144
Email: Nicole.Girard@cic.gc.ca
Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to paragraph 27(d) (see footnote a) of the Citizenship Act (see footnote b), proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Citizenship Regulations.
Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Nicole Girard, Director, Legislation and Program Policy, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 180 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1 (tel.: 613-991-2153; fax: 613-954-9144; email: Nicole.Girard@cic.gc.ca).
Ottawa, June 10, 2010
