Taking pride in being Canadian

You all know the pose. Raise your right hand, place your left on the Bible (if you have one), and repeat after me. . . .
This was the scene at the Fort Frances Courthouse last Friday afternoon, but not for the reason you might be thinking. There was no trial going on, but instead a massive citizenship court.
More than 200 people packed themselves into the courtroom to witness or participate in the citizenship court where 17 people were sworn in as Canadian citizens and many others—including town dignitaries and three classes of students—took part in a re-affirmation of their citizenship oath.
“I’m happy that our 17 newest Canadian citizens have decided to become part of this great country and province,” said citizenship judge Arthur Miki. “I’m happy to be the first to congratulate them.
The citizenship court was one of the many events held Friday in conjunction with the town’s centennial celebrations.
“We thought it was a good thing to do for the centennial,” said Pam Hawley, chair of the centennial committee.
Judge Miki described to all those gathered the importance of Canadian citizenship to him, touching on his family history. He is of Canadian-Japanese heritage and is proud he enjoys the rights and privileges of all Canadians that his grandparents didn’t during the Second World War.
“Open your arms and welcome these new Canadian citizens because we know they make important contributions building the fabric of our communities,” he remarked.
Local dignitaries on hand to congratulate those taking the oath for the first time, as well as those re-affirming their allegiance to Canada, were local MP Robert Nault, local MPP Howard Hampton, and Fort Frances Mayor Glenn Witherspoon.
“We’ve been in Canada for eight years,” said Annette Cooper. “We’ve been here long enough we wanted to do that.”
The Coopers have eight children, four of whom were born in Canada. They felt it was time for all of them to be Canadians.
The father, Chet Cooper, is the pastor at Victory Baptist Church here. The family came to Canada from Georgia.
“If we ever go on a missionary, we won’t have to go through what dad did,” said Timothy Cooper, one of Chet’s sons, of the red tape in crossing borders without Canadian citizenship.
“I’m proud to be Canadian,” said Heidi Wittwer, who came to Canada in 1991. “I feel real proud and I’m happy. I love this country.
“It’s very important to me to be called Canadian,” echoed Edwina Handayan Bedford, originally from the Philippines. “It is very nice.”
She also felt that having her Canadian citizenship would help her to get more involved. “I’m not an alien anymore,” Bedford joked, adding she always thought it sounded like she was from outer space.
“Sometimes we think so,” quipped her Canadian husband, Brian.
The two met when he was teaching over seas. “I liked to eat. She worked in a restaurant,” he said, recounting how they met.
“I’m a good cook, by the way,” she added, insinuating that’s why he married her.
“I didn’t know where Canada was,” Bedford admitted when she first learned where her future husband was from. But she does now—and now she is a citizen.
“It’s a nice feeling,” agreed Sharon Goff. “We’ve enjoyed living in Canada for 17 years.”
She noted she and her husband, originally from the U.S., came to Canada on their honeymoon in 1960 and just kept coming back ever since. Soon after, they just decided to move here.
They now live at the “end of the road” in the Red Lake/Ear Falls area. “It just makes me feel better to have citizenship,” Goff added.
“I’ve been living in Canada most of my life,” said Leonardo Cracco. “I just felt it was time to become an actual citizen.”
Born in Italy, he came to Canada when he was a child. He now lives in Dryden.
“It’s not much of a lifestyle change,” he said of having his new-found citizenship, “but I’m proud to be a Canadian, an actual Canadian. It’s something I’m proud I did.”
Is there anything you can do now that you have citizenship?
“It’ll be nice to vote because I’ve never voted before,” he noted. “For the next election, I’ll go and register.”
“I’ve actually lived [in Canada] for a long time,” said Anne Marie Puddicombe, originally from Washington. “I decided I wanted the whole family to have the same citizenship.
“It’s important for my children to understand what it means to be Canadian,” she continued. “By doing this, it shows them.
“I’m just a Canadian at heart,” she added. “[Citizenship] really connects me to Canada officially. I could never vote before, now I can.”
The franchise was a sticky issue for some, especially those who re-affirmed their citizenship Friday afternoon.
“Anyone who doesn’t exercise their right to vote should have to explain to a vet why that is,” said Darryl Allan, the town’s Administration and Finance manager who was among those who re-affirmed their citizenship.
“It’s so often reported that a small percentage [of people] vote,” said co-Citizen of the Year Jean Boileau, originally from England, who also re-affirmed her citizenship.
“That makes me very sick.”
During the ceremony, numerous people noted one of the responsibilities that comes with citizenship is to participate in your community, including casting a vote to shape it.
But why re-affirm your citizenship?
“It was just a good opportunity to remember why I was a Canadian,” said Allan. “It wasn’t just where I was born, I wanted the chance to stand up and say this is truly who I am.”
For others, it was a reminder of an oath taken before.
“I took the oath first in 1975,” said Boileau, adding that her children were mad at her for not doing it sooner. “[I re-affirmed] mainly because I am very, very proud to be Canadian.”
“I received my citizenship in 1996,” said Marilyn Erwin, also originally from the U.K. “I wanted my children to understand how important it was and not to take it for granted because they were born in Canada. I wanted to do it as a family.
“I felt as if I was marrying the country,” she explained. “The vows were so meaningful, it was as important as a marriage.”
“Canada has been very good to me,” said Christine Eisenzopf, who is originally from England, too, and first became a Canadian citizenship in 1989.
“I think it’s important that we take pride in these ceremonies,” she remarked. “If people don’t take part, then these ceremonies don’t get held and the kids lose.
“I felt if I was going to live here, I should take my responsibility seriously,” she added. “People are dying for what we have, for what we take for granted.”
Fort Frances CAO Bill Naturkach had another obligation to consider.
“I had to [re-affirm] because I booked it two years ago,” he said jokingly.
“It was the right thing to do,” he added, more seriously. “When you get born, you just assume it.
“My wife actually wasn’t born in Canada and only became a Canadian citizen when we were married,” he noted, adding that she also had planned to be there last Friday afternoon but couldn’t make it.