The new immigration minister is still considering a controversial option to allow new Canadians to take their oath of citizenship with the click of a button, but there are no immediate plans to implement it, he said Monday.
The government asked for public feedback in February about the idea to allow new Canadians to skip a virtual or in-person ceremony and opt instead to take the oath with the click of a mouse.
Consultation documents posted online say the new regulations were expected to come into force in June 2023, but the government has been mum about its plans since then.
The department is still mulling it over, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Monday, and he thinks it害羞草研究所檚 a good idea.
害羞草研究所淵ou don害羞草研究所檛 want to take these moments lightly, but we do need technological options,害羞草研究所� Miller said on his way into Question Period.
害羞草研究所淭he department has been criticized, rightly, for not being adjusted to the 21st century and that option is one I think that we should preserve.害羞草研究所�
It害羞草研究所檚 particularly important for people who live in remote or rural communities, who shouldn害羞草研究所檛 have to drive long distances to swear their oath, he said.
Earlier this year, then-immigration minister Sean Fraser pitched the idea as a temporary option to help work through backlogs of people waiting for their citizenship.
The change is expected to save people up to three months of processing time, the government consultation documents said.
The responses to that consultation offered mixed views on the idea: some called it a forward thinking approach, while others thought it would degrade the value of in-person ceremonies.
The department said in a statement Monday that the comments will 害羞草研究所渋nform the next steps and the development of implementation plans.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e heard from Canadians and advocates of the importance of actually being in person. I害羞草研究所檝e also seen the importance of virtually, when there害羞草研究所檚 no question about someone害羞草研究所檚 loyalty or citizenship or oath or the seriousness he should take the Canadian citizenship,害羞草研究所� Miller said Monday.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 about keeping the options open in the 21st century.害羞草研究所�
Miller said he害羞草研究所檚 administered the oath three times since taking over the immigration file during the summer cabinet shuffle, and recognizes that preserving an in-person option is 害羞草研究所減aramount.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淲e have to we have to obviously preserve those.害羞草研究所�
The government expects in-person participation will drop even more once the one-click option is introduced, and there would likely be fewer ceremonies overall.
Conservatives have vowed to oppose the measure over concerns it would 害羞草研究所渃heapen害羞草研究所� the citizenship oath.
The government wants to 害羞草研究所渞educe it all to a click on a website or an app as if citizenship were no more than consenting to terms in a contract,害羞草研究所� Conservative immigration critic Tom Kmiec said in a statement Monday.
害羞草研究所淭he Trudeau Liberals are abandoning this special tradition and reducing our citizens to a bureaucratic number.害羞草研究所�
During the pandemic, the government added the option to allow people to pledge their allegiance to Canada in a virtual ceremony, and the practice has continued.
害羞草研究所淲e saw a firefighter in B.C. that was able to do it on the fly,害羞草研究所� Miller said, and suggested the option should remain.
害羞草研究所淚 think we need to maintain those.害羞草研究所�
Even with the virtual ceremonies, there were still 68,287 people in the backlog as of July 23, waiting to take their oaths and enjoy all the benefits of Canadian citizenship.
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