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Citizenship and the Canadian-Born

Rudyard Griffiths May 29, 2009 Being born in Canada does not entitle home-grown sons and daughters to generous, unconditional rights, says Rudyard Griffiths.

 

In the days ahead, Canadians have an important task: to rid themselves of the spurious notion that the responsibilities of citizenship—voting, knowing Canadian history, volunteering, etc.—apply first and foremost to immigrants. Here are three ideas whose time has come.
1. Mandatory Voting
In the 1970s, Canadian elections had a healthy 75 percent voter turnout. That plunged to a dismal 59 percent in the 2008 federal election. Each new cohort of eligible voters since the mid-1980s has turned out in fewer numbers than its predecessors. And the decline in the overall voting rate will only get worse as older …

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Tenth Anniversary: Spring

ISSUE 43 Tenth Anniversary: Spring 2012

online content:

also in this issue:

  • Face the Music

    by Tim Falconer How can someone who passionately loves music also be a terrible singer? Tim Falconer takes up voice lessons—and discovers the surprising science of tone deafness.

  • The Big Job

    by Deni Y. Béchard As a teenager, Deni Y. Béchard went to Vancouver to live with his father, an ex-con with a penchant for telling tall tales. He met a man desperate to forget the past.

  • The Homesickness of Astronauts

    by Johanna Skibsrud "She felt a great sadness. She would remember next to nothing of this, even soon."
  • [see full issue contents]