Recent conversations about updating the Canadian citizenship guide, a 68-page document called Discover Canada, have been more politically charged than anticipated.
The opinions of the Conservative and Liberal governments clash when it comes to the focus of the document, with Conservatives leaning toward rights and responsibilities and Liberals toward reconciliation and multiculturalism. Despite plans to release the new guide in 2017, the updates are ongoing.
The guide contains outdated information about residential schools and Indigenous people, so its updates will attempt to accurately represent the Indigenous experience and the evolution of the rights of women, LGBT persons, and people with disabilities.
The language of the document will also be updated to be more accessible to newcomers and the oath of citizenship will now reflect Indigenous rights.