The government released a new citizenship guide for new Canadians. The booklet is meant to offer new citizens an introduction to Canada’s history and identity.

Unmistakably, this guide is a political attempt at capturing the definition of the Canadian identity. It dedicates a lot of space to promote certain values and chooses to conspicuously omit others.

There are fundamental Canadian values that this guide chooses to minimize:

1) Social and cultural Aboriginal contributions to Canadian identity: While the guide discusses the Aboriginal communities role in trade and wars, it dedicates little space to highlight the social and cultural influence on our identity and history. It’s surprising given that one of the recognized contributors to this guide, John Ralston Saul, has just published a book entitled A Fair Country where he argues that Canada is heavily influenced and shaped by aboriginal values and cultures.

2) Social justice is a cornerstone of Canadian identity: As a society, Canadians believe that we are as strong as our least fortunate and that our individual prosperity and success is interlinked to the well being of our society. That is the reason why Canadians are proud of our universal healthcare system and pension for example. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is another example of our commitment as a nation to protecting social justice. The booklet briefly touches upon some of these initiatives but it completely ignores the social justice concept. To many conservatives, the promotion of social justice ideals means promoting a sense of entitlement rather than responsibilities. That of course is inaccurate. Explaining the concept behind universal healthcare and pension highlights a sense of responsibility to each other. After all, citizens are funding these initiatives and by discussing their importance, it reinforces individual responsibilities towards his/her society.

3) Canadian’s tradition of international multilateralism: Most immigrants when they arrive to Canada know very little about Canada’s history, but they all know of Canada’s international contributions to global peace and multilateralism. This guide glaringly avoids talking about Canada’s historical efforts in promoting international peace. Lester Pearson’s Noble Peace Prize, Canada’s role in banning land mines, the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the concept of the state’s “Responsibility to Protect” its citizens, etc. Canada has a proud record of being a vocal proponent of peace and cooperation internationally and the decision to ignore that history and the values that drive it is perplexing.

4) Immigrants’ success and contributions to Canada’s identity: As the guide briefly mentions, Canada is a land of immigrants, but it dedicates more space to talk about sports than to brag about the contributions of immigrants to Canada’s success. Over the years, immigrants have influenced Canada’s identity economically, culturally, socially and politically. Citing examples of such proud accomplishments would have left the new Canadian reader with a sense of pride and motivation that he/she can also make a mark on our history. While it mentions in passing that Canada’s first prime minister was born outside the country (an immigrant), the booklet doesn’t emphasize that new Canadians have equal access to our political system.

5) Canada’s military history as an expression of our values: The guide dedicates considerable space to outline Canada’s military’s accomplishments. That history is an essential component of our identity, but the booklet argues that our historical military roles defines our identity rather than it being an expression of our identity. As a nation, we must always pay tribute to the sacrifices of our men and women in military and be grateful for their service. Our decision as a country to use our military is guided by our values and priorities rather than the other way around.

6) Getting involved: The guide appears to miss an opportunity to invite new Canadians to getting involved in their communities. Once again, it dedicates more time to discuss sports than to provide inspiration on how to get involved. The encouragement to volunteer deserved more emphasis and space.

The Conservatives are the governing party so they have the power to define citizenship according to their values. That will not end the ongoing debate about the meaning of Canadian identity and its various dimensions.

I have great respect for many of the names acknowledged in helping prepare this guide, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with the direction it took. There are, however, many aspects of the guide that I like and support.

There are competing visions of Canadian values and identity. The Conservative one is stuck in the past and is built on the concept of individuality. The Liberal vision for Canadian identity is built on the responsibility to each other and the concept that we can learn from the history of others but are prepared to make our own.

On a side note: The guide has a table that defines where the responsibilities lie between the various levels of governments. It’s interesting that it declares that health care and natural resources are exclusively provincial files (it does mention that environment, agriculture and immigration are shared between the federal and provincial governments). Someone should notify the federal ministers of health and natural resources.