Just listened to Swedish radio, which discussed the pros and cons of introducing a language test requirement for immigrants who want to become citizens. Helena Bergholtz, a Liberal MP, said that many succesful nations employ such tests and went on to claim that Canada is a country that uses language tests for such requirements. This is not true. A person who wants to become a Canadian citizen has to pass a test in civics, which probes your knowledge in Canadian history and (to some extent) politics. This is not the same as a language test and the difference is an important one, even if the test itself is written in one of the official languages. It's amazing how persistent this misconception of the Canadian procedure is among Swedes. One would think that someone would check the facts at some point.
It is also discouraging, seeing as accuracy is important when making legislative proposals, particularly in an issue of such significance as citizenship and ethnic integration, where mistakes risks aggravating ethnic relations and cause unnecessary tensions between the majority and the minorities...
No comments:
Post a Comment