Soon a Canadian citizenship oath could be just a scroll and click away

27 Feb 2023

最早从 6 月开始，新的加拿大公民可以自己宣誓——不需要公民法官。 Starting as soon as June, new Canadian citizens could take the oath on their own — without the need for a citizenship judge.

拟议的变更是移民官员试图减少处理时间和积压的尝试。 The proposed change is an attempt by immigration officials to reduce processing time and backlogs.

然而，批评人士警告称，此举将彻底改变几代新移民沿袭数十年的仪式，并会进一步淡化加拿大公民身份的意义。 However, critics warn the move would drastically change the decades-old ritual for generations of newcomers and with a click on the keyboard, further dilute the meaning of Canadian citizenship.

“这只会进一步贬低成为加拿大公民的重要性。单击条款和条件成为公民就像创建 Facebook 或 TikTok 帐户一样容易，”加拿大公民协会首席执行官丹尼尔伯恩哈德说。 “This just further cheapens the significance of becoming a Canadian citizen. It’s just as easy to click terms and conditions to become a citizen as it is to create a Facebook or a TikTok account,” said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

“真是可惜了。” “That’s really a shame.”

根据周末在加拿大公报上公布的计划，这一变化是移民处理现代化和数字化的一部分，预计会将目前的公民身份处理时间缩短三个月至 21 个月。 The change, as part of the modernization and digitalization of immigration processing, is expected to reduce the current citizenship processing time by three months to 21 months, according to the plan published in the Canada Gazette over the weekend.

自1947年以来，宣誓就成为加拿大公民的法定要求，是入籍申请人遵守加拿大法律、履行公民义务的庄严誓言。 Swearing an oath has been a legal requirement of becoming a citizen in this country since 1947. It’s a solemn vow taken by citizenship applicants to follow the laws of Canada and fulfil their duties as citizens.

公民身份不仅是新移民对加拿大的归属感和承诺的里程碑，它还具有护照、投票权和竞选公职的能力等好处。 Citizenship is not only a milestone for new immigrants toward their belonging and commitment to Canada, it also comes with the benefits of a passport, voting rights and the ability to run for elected office.

根据拟议的变更，移民部长将拥有广泛的自由裁量权，允许公民申请人通过其他方式宣誓，而不必在授权人面前宣誓。 Under the proposed change, the immigration minister would have broad discretion to allow citizenship applicants to take the oath by other means and not necessarily before an authorized individual.

目前，新公民在公民身份法官面前宣誓或确认宣誓，这些仪式主要安排在工作日的工作时间，但偶尔也会安排在周六举行。 Currently, new citizens swear or affirm the oath before a citizenship judge at virtual or in-person ceremonies, which are mainly scheduled on weekdays, during working hours, although ceremonies are occasionally scheduled on Saturdays.

“许多客户不得不请假参加公民入籍仪式，而这段时间不一定由雇主支付，”移民部门在公报中说。 “Many clients have to take time off work to attend citizenship ceremonies, and this time off is not necessarily paid by employers,” the immigration department said in the Gazette.

“这种灵活性将使该部门能够实施旨在改善客户服务和减少公民申请处理时间的方案。” “The flexibility would allow the Department to implement options aimed at improving client service and reducing processing times of citizenship applications.”

拟议的变更是在新数据表明 20 年来公民身份接受率急剧下降之后提出的。 The proposed change came in the wake of new data indicating a nosedive in citizenship uptake over 20 years.

2021 年的人口普查发现，只有 45.7% 的永久居民在 10 年内成为公民，低于 2016 年的 60% 和 2001 年的 75.1%。 The 2021 census found that just 45.7 per cent of permanent residents became citizens within 10 years, down from 60 per cent in 2016 and 75.1 per cent in 2001.

“公民身份确实需要很长时间，他们正在研究这个过程，”伯恩哈德说，他的组织获得了这些数据。 “但真正的问题不是获得公民身份需要多长时间。实际问题是加拿大公民身份本身的可取性。” “Citizenship does take a long time, and they’re working on the process,” said Bernhard, whose organization obtained the data. “But the actual problem is not how long it takes to get the citizenship. The actual problem is the desirability of Canadian citizenship itself.”

在大流行期间，公民身份处理时间比之前的 12 个月服务标准增加了一倍，尽管在过去五年中每年批准的公民身份申请数量从 113,000 件大幅增加到 243,000 件。 During the pandemic, citizenship processing time has doubled from the prior 12-month service standard, even though the number of citizenship applications granted annually has risen significantly from 113,000 to 243,000 over the last five years.

随着加拿大朝着到 2025 年每年引进 50 万新永久居民的方向发展，入籍申请的数量——目前为 358,000——预计将会增长。 With Canada moving toward bringing in half a million new permanent residents a year by 2025, the inventory of citizenship applications — standing at 358,000 — is expected to grow.

公民申请者必须经过严格的筛选程序，以确保他们满足所有要求，包括申请时在加拿大实际居住的五年中满三年。年龄在 18 至 54 岁之间的人还必须表现出对任何一种官方语言的熟练程度，并在安排入籍仪式之前通过入籍考试。 Citizenship applicants must go through a stringent screening process to ensure they meet all requirements, including three out of five years of physical presence in Canada at the time of applying. Those between 18 and 54 years of age must also show proficiency in either of the official languages and pass a citizenship exam before they are scheduled for a citizenship ceremony.

由于 COVID，截至 2020 年 4 月，官员们引入了虚拟公民入籍仪式。从那时起，15,457 场仪式中有 15,290 场是在授权官员（通常是公民法官）面前在线举行的。 Due to COVID, officials have brought in virtual citizenship ceremonies as of April 2020. Since then, 15,290 of the 15,457 ceremonies have been held online in front of an authorized official, generally a citizenship judge.

移民局表示，现在宣誓的“自我管理”将允许新公民在线签署书面证明，以完成公民义务，这是该过程的最后一步——并节省成本，因为举办的仪式会更少. The “self-administration” of the oath-taking would now allow new citizens to sign a written attestation online to complete the obligations of citizenship, the final step of the process — and save costs as fewer ceremonies would be hosted, said the immigration department.

对于移民部前局长安德鲁·格里菲斯 (Andrew Griffith) 来说，这一变化标志着联邦政府在处理移民和公民身份问题上的又一次转变。 For Andrew Griffith, a former director general at the immigration department, the change marks another diversion of the federal government in its approach to immigration and citizenship.

“我只是看看我们所有的移民政策，”现任环境研究所研究员的格里菲斯说。 “基本上是越多越好。这与整合能力无关。它只是在增加数字_._ 我可以理解你只是想推动人们通过的逻辑，但我一直认为移民和公民身份不止于此。 “I just look at all of our immigration policies,” said Griffith, now an Environics Institute fellow. “It’s basically the more, the merrier. It’s not about the ability to integrate. It’s just increasing numbers_._ I can see the logic in terms of you just want to push people through but I always thought that immigration and citizenship was more than that.

“我们只是在进一步削弱公民身份的价值。” “We’re just really further diminishing the value of citizenship.”

公众有 30 天的时间对拟议的监管变更发表评论并提供反馈。 The public has 30 days to comment and provide feedback to the proposed regulatory change.

经多伦多星报许可发布。 Posted with permission from Toronto Star.

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