The gift of belonging: in our society, citizenship is viewed as a balance between rights and responsibilities.

Historically, citizenship has had many different meanings. To the ancient Greeks, for example, not everybody who lived in a city state, such as Athens, was a citizen. Citizens held a special place in the community. They made a commitment to becoming an active part of the life of the community. Citizenship was not simply an individual right, as we tend to think of it today. It meant membership and commitment to the religious, social, political, and cultural life of the community. To the Greeks personal rights were not separated from community responsibility and duty to one's fellow citizens.

Roman citizenship also meant rights, privileges, and duties. And, it depended on either birth or a grant from the state. Roman citizenship symbolized the unity of people from many different places. Foreigners could become active political members of the Roman state. For Romans, citizenship was not limited to a articular tribe, race, or culture.

In medieval Europe, the modern concept of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship being bound together was not very important. One gave one's loyalty to a leader (monarch, baron, landowner, etc.) and, in return, one received protection from enemies. The awakening of a sense of membership in a nation came with the French and American revolutions in the late 18th century.

Citizenship in our society involves the formal granting of rights to people; rights to participate actively in public life, by doing such things as voting, or serving on juries. It also involves the obligation to contribute in a meaningful way and obey our laws. Having rights and responsibilities is central to our idea of citizenship.

The process for becoming a Canadian citizen is laid out in the 1977 Citizenship Act. Normally, an immigrant is accepted into Canada to live as a permanent resident. Adults, over 18 years of age, who are admitted to Canada for permanent residence may qualify for citizenship after three or more years in Canada. (Parents of children under 18 may apply on their behalf). To become Canadians, they can go to a Citizenship Court and apply. As part of the process, the prospective citizen is tested on his or her knowledge about Canada's political structure, electoral system, and history. After an interview, a citizenship judge decides if the requirements of the Citizenship Act have been met. If successful, the applicant is called to a citizenship ceremony to take the oath of citizenship and become a Canadian.

That covers the practical nuts and bolts of citizenship; the legal part of how it's done. But, citizenship is much more than just a piece of paper.

Citizenship is the gift of belonging. It is being part of a family. And, membership in that family carries with it many obligations. Among these are helping one another in times of difficulty, and sharing and defending a core of common values.

And, this is where we run into a bit of a problem. Canada is a country with many regional divisions which are further complicated by the multicultural backgrounds of an increasingly large proportion of its people. In the community of communities that is Canada today what are our core values?

This is a subject that occupied some of Canada's best brains in June 1997 at a meeting of the Congress of Learned Societies in St. John's, Newfoundland. University of Calgary Professor Yvonne Hebert believes "...the country is once again facing a crisis about who we are. The question is: What is Canada and what does it mean to belong?" University of New Brunswick Professor Alan Sears answers that question by saying that "Groups of Canadians define their citizenship differently."

An answer such as that bothers many Canadians. Perhaps none more so than the country's political conservatives. Their concerns were voiced by the Globe and Mail as Canada celebrated its 130th birthday:

"Our destiny was always modest... But, oh, we have had purpose, sometimes etched in blood. As Stephen Leacock wrote in 1941, during the Second World War: `When we have taken our share in beating down iniquity, we must take more than our share in setting up happiness. Our day is tomorrow.'

"Tomorrow. That idealism ... has inspired a dominion of tolerance, order and civility. But it did more than that. It made Canada an exemplar. In the most violent of centuries ... here was our mission: to show the world that this big, diverse country could work. To fail, as Pierre Trudeau said, would be `a sin upon humanity.'

"Since 1867, in war, depression and political crisis, we have persevered. Often we were not sure we would last. We still aren't. Worse, we wonder whether to try.

"If Canada is to be worthy of its privilege in 1997, if it is to offer something to humanity, it will have to forge a new national spirit. As a first step, let us teach national history, celebrate our founders, revisit their ideals, establish new symbols, strengthen the terms of citizenship."

To some, this sounds like trying to turn the clock back; yearning for a simpler age that is gone and will not return. The reality is that Canadians do now live in a multicultural society. As individuals, we do belong to groups that may well define their citizenship differently. As citizens, we are on a journey in search of a new definition of what it means to be Canadians.

Perhaps, we can find a few pointers that will help us as we look for a set of core values that we can all agree on. Many of those values will be the ones that have sustained us in the past. Here are some words we can probably all agree on: Tolerance. Freedom. Generosity. Justice. Peace. Compromise. Equality. Consensus. If we know where we have come from we will have a better vision of where we want to go to.

Most Canadians of whatever culture can trace their origins to people who came here for similar reasons. We are Scots who lost our homes in the enclosure of lands by a privileged nobility. We are Somalis who came to escape the scourge of battle. We are Hungarians whose homeland has been invaded. We are Jews in search of sanctuary. We are Haitians fleeing poverty and oppression. We are Vietnamese, Italians, Egyptians, and Finns looking for a better life. The common history of almost all Canadians is poverty, oppression, discrimination, and war.

Today, our view of citizenship is based on the experience of our dominant culture, which is European. Perhaps, this needs adjustment to accommodate the many Canadians of non-European origin. We could do worse than borrow from our Native peoples, the first Canadians, the concept of living in harmony with the land. Asian Canadians might be able to teach us something useful about the importance of community. Surely, there are good lessons to learn from Buddhism, Islam, African culture, and the wisdom of a host of other philosophies.

We can look for help in the writing of other Canadians. In 1995, writer Denise Chong spoke about what being Canadian means to her: "Canadian citizenship recognizes differences. It praises diversity. It is what we as Canadians choose to have in common with each other. It is a bridge between those who left somewhere to make a new home here and those born here. What keeps the bridge strong is tolerance, fairness, understanding, and compassion. Citizenship has rights and responsibilities. I believe one responsibility is to use that tolerance, fairness, understanding, and compassion to leaf through the Canadian family album together..."

Two years earlier, William Kaplan edited a book of essays on the concept of Canadian citizenship. Here's an excerpt of what Mr. Kaplan himself wrote in Belongings, published by McGill-Queen's University Press: "Canadians have long recognized that true equality does not necessarily mean treating everyone exactly the same. Accommodation of differences is part of what this country has historically, albeit imperfectly, been about, and one hopes that that will not change."

Nell Bissoondath sees innocence, in the sense of "having a trusting nature" as an enduring Canadian quality. He says our innocence is part of the idealism that makes our nation possible. He also cites politeness: "Tread accidentally on a Canadian's foot, and he falls over himself apologizing to you. Many view this as a silly trait. I do not. In some parts of the world, you'd be lucky to get away with just a scowl. In others, you'd be lucky to get away with your life. The Canadian's urge to apologize for having got his shoe under yours strikes me as endearing and eminently civilized."

Writer Mark Sissons returned to Canada in 1995 after four years in Hong Kong. He echoes Mr. Bissoondath's thoughts on politeness. Jetlagged and tired, he was bothered by a drunk under his hotel window who was raging against the unfairness of the world. "I poke my head out the window and hiss at him to shut up. He quickly mumbles an apology and meekly sinks into the shadows. God, I think to myself as I lock the window, welcome home. Even the bums are polite."

Mr. Sissons also found he could appreciate Canada as: "A country that still places quality of life above quantity of profit and tolerates an amazing diversity of attitudes and lifestyles. A country that still offers the chance, albeit more fleeting, to enjoy a lifestyle unequalled anywhere on Earth."

And, Mr. Sissons is far from alone. In a 1994 poll, 91% of Canadians agreed with the statement: "Canada is the best country in the world in which to live."

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. On Canada Day 1997, the Globe and Mail published an editorial that was highly critical of the failure of Canadians to believe in a common purpose. "To be a Canadian in 1997 is to live in a country devaluing its institutions and forgetting its history... Without a sense of ambition and idealism, Canada no longer has a fixed address, let alone a destination... Choosing diversity over unity, we teach children less and less about Baldwin and LaFontaine, Macdonald and Laurier, their dreams and our origins... When a country is prepared to ... encourage identification with group or province rather than with an ideal, it loses its soul. When citizenship becomes more about benefits than obligations it fosters a conditional Canadian, seeking options elsewhere, believing Canada if necessary, but not necessarily Canada. It makes us tenants in our house." Discuss.

2. Through class discussion, write a Canadian Citizenship Oath that you think expresses the ideals held in common by Canadians.