As of today, Sharon Temple National Historic Site and Museum has partnered with Canoo to welcome new Canadian citizens into their space with free admission.

Canoo is a mobile app that helps new Canadian citizens celebrate their citizenship by providing free admission to over 1400 museums, science centres, art galleries, parks, and historic sites across Canada.

Sharon Temple is a museum located in East Gwillimbury, ON. Canoo members can use their mobile app to enjoy free, general admission for themselves and up to four children every time they visit Sharon Temple.

The Sharon Temple was constructed by the Children of Peace, an Upper Canada Quaker sect from 1825 – 1831. The Temple is an architectural symbol of their vision of a society based on the values of peace, equality and social justice.

Canoo members in East Gwillimbury and the surrounding area, check your app to learn more about Sharon Temple and to visit!

To find more places to visit near you, be sure to enable location services on the Canoo app. Learn more about the app on the Canoo Help Centre

Meet Canoo member Viri Sanchez. Viri came to Canada from Mexico in 2005 with the help of a friend from Calgary.

“I was so lucky to meet my friend Amanda while she was working in Playa del Carmen, Mexico,” explains Viri. “We both worked at a hotel and quickly became friends. Amanda and her family very kindly offered to host me at their home in Calgary, AB. I instantly fell in love with Calgary and the Canadian customs, the wide-open spaces, clean air, the kindness of people, [and] especially Amanda’s family. They helped me for the first two years when I arrived. It was Brenda, Amanda’s mother, who suggested I study cosmetology at a time when it seemed like I was out of options to stay and live in Canada. Thanks to this Canadian family, I found friendship, a new family and opportunities for the future. Afterwards, I started working at a hair salon, where my boss Margo, also an immigrant, was very supportive and we started the process for permanent residence.

“I feel even more so I belong in this beautiful country [after becoming a citizen]. Every time I tell someone I became a citizen, they always show me a warm smile and even hugs, congratulating me on this great achievement. I feel that now I can continue moving forward building a great life for myself and my family knowing that I am Canadian and we are welcomed. Here in Canada, I have found the best quality of life, friends, inclusion, a safe and peaceful place to build a family, and endless possibilities.”

Viri has already started using her Canoo app to explore venues in and around Calgary.  “[I visited] the Glenbow Museum,” says Viri, “It showed me so much more about Canadian history, culture and heritage. I have also used [Canoo] to visit Banff National Park. Being in the mountains is always a relaxing and enjoyable experience; during summer, my husband and I go for hikes and camping, during winter, we like to snowboard. Cultural places are proof of the welcoming heart of Canada and its constant evolution thanks to multiculturalism.”

“Because we had to work hard to get Canadian citizenship, we are also making a choice to be a Canadian,” explains Viri, “When we finally become [citizens], we appreciate it with a different perspective; we see new beginnings and new opportunities, [and] we are so grateful to be accepted, to become a part of it. We were not so lucky to have been born here, but we now feel the luckiest to have found it and to be welcomed.”

June marked National Indigenous History Month in Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) celebrated with seven citizenship ceremonies across the country. We believe that reconciliation is the shared responsibility of all people — existing and new Canadians alike — and our ceremonies in June shone a light on the spaces, traditions, and practices of Indigenous Peoples. At our ceremonies, new Canadians and Canadians that have been in the country for years or generations came together to reflect on what being Canadian means, what reconciliation looks like, and how to be active, and engaged citizens.

Highlights included:

At Conservation Halton, we heard from Jennifer Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty, a cosmetic brand that aims to help Indigenous youth, and Elder Edebwed Ogichidaa Kwe (She who speaks the Truth Warrior woman leader) . Catering was provided by Anishinabe catering company NishDish. 

Thank you to Edebwed Ogichidaa Kwe (She who speaks the Truth Warrior woman leader) Valarie King for this welcome song! pic.twitter.com/NJ5cA5B93y

— Institute for Canadian Citizenship (@inclusion_ca) June 4, 2019

And thanks to Jennifer Harper, founder of @cheekbonebeauty, for her remarks: “As creatures and humans, we all crave and desire peace and security…When we can come together and break bread, remove hate, and sit in that space and share in love, that is a successful country.” pic.twitter.com/pqqTj1tQGW

— Institute for Canadian Citizenship (@inclusion_ca) June 4, 2019

At UBC First Nations Longhouse in Vancouver, Dr. Richard Vedan, Elder Scholar welcomed new citizens and shared the history of his people.

“We’re in the process of truth and reconciliation…you are part of that because you have inherited all of the benefits of the people that went before.” – Dr. Richard Vedan, Elder Scholar to new Canadian citizens at today’s ceremony at @UBCLonghouse. #IndigenousHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/PgpZf3DocK

— Institute for Canadian Citizenship (@inclusion_ca) June 18, 2019

At the Saskatoon Indian & Metis Friendship Centre, Marianne from May Henderson catering held a demonstration of how to make bannock and spoke about the dish’s significance for her community.

“This is one of our staples,” Marianne, who works with our wonderful caterer May Henderson, teaching new citizens about bannock at today’s citizenship ceremony in Saskatoon, part of our #IndigenousHistoryMonth celebrations. pic.twitter.com/5DByPE7nkx

— Institute for Canadian Citizenship (@inclusion_ca) June 20, 2019

We also held a citizenship ceremony for the first time in Yellowknife — at the Chief Drygeese Centre on the land of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

Join @ICCICC for a special Citizenship Ceremony in #YZF this Thursday, June 20, to honour National Indigenous Heritage Month: https://t.co/z5y8kxCquT

— City of Yellowknife (@OurYellowknife) June 18, 2019

All of ceremonies celebrating National Indigenous Month:

• Conservation Halton (Rattlesnake Point) in Mississauga, ON
• Neeginan Centre in Winnipeg, MB
• La Cité de l’énergie in Shawinigan, QC
• UBC First Nations Longhouse in Vancouver, BC
• Town of Fort Macleod – Community Hall in Fort MacLeod, AB
• Saskatoon Indian & Metis Friendship Centre in Saskatoon, SK
• Yellowknives Dene First Nation in Yellowknife, NWT

While National Indigenous History Months is over, we will continue to engage Indigenous Peoples in all our ceremonies, and in all our work, year-round. Join us at an upcoming citizenship ceremony and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on other ways you can get involved.

What is your role as Newcomers Librarian?
As Newcomers Librarian, I have the opportunity to work with a variety of government agencies and local organizations that are working passionately to provide connections and services for newcomers settling in Canada.

Why is inclusion important to the Calgary Public Library?
Inclusion is a foundational principle of the public library. Inclusion empowers our community by connecting people to ideas and experiences, inspiration and insight.

What does inclusion look like in practice through different departments or initiatives at the library?Eliminating barriers to our services and collections through free free memberships, fantastic meeting spaces in all our libraries and free programs for all ages.

The library’s focus on inclusion is reflected in the Indigenous Placemaking Commissions.  The program promotes an educational understanding and cultural communication of Indigenous peoples within Treaty 7 territory, and collaboration amongst artists of all disciplines, backgrounds, and stages of careers. It also develops specific artworks that reflect traditional cultural practices, materials, and techniques taught and overseen by Elders and knowledge keepers.

Our libraries are welcoming spaces for all ages and there’s fun to be had, too! The Early Literary Centres provide a free and accessible space to all and are intended to create an experience families might not otherwise have. The spaces are highly interactive and playful, informed by research supporting the importance of play in a child’s development.

We are also inviting our teen population to collaborate with us. The Teen Tech Lab is a dedicated creative space for teens, supported by technology and by volunteer mentors.  The Teen Tech Lab supports a range of programming, including after-school programs. The programs offered are free, drop-in, and support exploratory learning. They cover skills from sewing to nutrition, robotics to painting, and everything in between.

With inclusion in mind, which of your initiative(s) would you consider the most successful or innovative?One of our most successful programs is the ESL Coffee and Conversation Club. This is a six- week program facilitated by staff, where [people can] practice English with lesson plans and conversations, and ultimately build confidence in speaking their new language.  A large component of these types of classes is the socializing and connecting part. [Participants] make friends and enjoy a coffee and they are also learning about their city and country and the Canadian way of life.

Other initiatives that we are extremely proud of and align with our strategic direction include the Elders’ Guidance Circle and the Indigenous Language Resource Centre.

The Elders’ Guidance Circle is a space for anyone to speak to Indigenous Elders from multiple nations. Here, Elders are able to provide education, storytelling, and a spiritual component to programming and services, including ceremony and smudges. Elders are available on a daily basis, with the schedule updated regularly.

The Indigenous Languages Resource Centre will help protect, preserve, and promote Indigenous culture, thanks to $1 million in funding from the Government of Alberta. Located at Central Library, this will be the third centre of its kind in Canada, where anyone, with their free library card, can access language learning, storytelling, Elder guidance, and other materials. The project was launched at the same time the United Nations declared 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Languages.

What responses or results have you seen from implementing these initiatives?
Members are embracing the opportunity to enter the beautiful Guidance Circle and engage with Elders—they listen to stories and learn from their conversations. Children and families love playing and learning in these spaces and they are making connections with others. Six Indigenous artists — all from or with a connection to Treaty 7 — have contributed art for three spaces within Central Library.

Our results are also measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. We capture the attendance statistics, as well as wonderful stories that illuminate our successes.

The Calgary Public Library is open to everyone!

Sandra Lourdes Murillo Paz moved to Edmonton from Mexico in 2010 to join her family, who had moved there a few years prior.

She received her citizenship this year and was most excited to vote. Voting is important to Sandra because it enables her to make her “new country better for everyone.”

She has already used her Canoo app to start exploring her city, including the Art Gallery of Alberta. She plans to use her VIA Rail discount and her Canoo app to explore more of Canada during the summer months.

Sandra volunteers, when she has time, in the arts and creative community in Edmonton. She believes that the Canoo program is important because it allows new Canadian citizens to explore arts and culture in Canada. “It helps me to understand the importance of arts and cultural diversity, and promotes knowledge about who we are [as a country],” she says.

I have always considered my nationality a form of identity and I sought to better understand this identity when I left the shores of Nigeria to pursue a new career and educational prospects. I wanted to learn and experience a world beyond the one I was familiar with. That experience has been a journey in self-discovery; I did not realize how Nigerian I was until I moved to Canada. My cultural idiosyncrasies as a Nigerian became points of exceptionalism in my new Canadian environment—the kind of exceptionalism that gives room to learning, unlearning, and re-learning the world around me.

I discovered a world beyond the confines of my singular view during my postgraduate studies. I was learning with other students from different nationalities who, like me, were attempting to make sense of the world vis-à-vis their new experiences. I soon discovered a diaspora community that was a rich blend of cultures and worldviews that were vastly different from mine. I was becoming more conscious of my unconscious biases and the nuances of my new cultural environment—a world far from the one I had left behind. My new experiences spoke to new possibilities—the kind one would only find in a world that appreciates and gives voice to the unique and multifaceted experiences of people of different backgrounds and worldviews.

Canada soon became my definition of a multicultural society and as I got involved with my community, I found my place as part of its cultural mosaic. My experiences did not come without challenges, however. I found that workforce engagement or social inclusion is often skewed in favour of those with more similar or familiar experiences. Different is not always considered valuable, and maintaining the status quo is sometimes favoured by those who would rather not make the effort to learn new ways of being, doing and seeing.

Through my work on The Inclusion Project—a platform for engaging private and public sector stakeholders on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion—I’ve thought and learnt a lot about the correlation between a sense of belonging and one’s status on the citizenship spectrum. The project was inspired by some of the conversations at 6 Degrees Toronto, the forum presented by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship that I attended as part of my fellowship, as well as some international conversations around citizenship and migration.

Access to healthcare, employment, and some social services are sometimes allocated based on citizenship status. While there is a justifiable need to grant primary access to those who, by birth or naturalization, are citizens, this could also lead to the exclusion of those who do not (yet) have the privilege of citizenship. The illusion of permanence for immigrants, refugees or other newcomers becomes apparent when it becomes increasingly difficult to access much-needed services or the extent of their contribution to the society is limited by their residency status.

Certain rights (and privileges), such as the right to vote or run for office, should be reserved for citizens, but the growing need for skilled labour and the aging Canadian workforce no doubt, calls for new talent that would likely need to emerge from other parts of the world. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have caught up to the need to support foreign medical talent to meet their needs; other provinces and professions need to catch up to this trend and consider new ways of gauging skills and experience beyond the number of years a person has spent in the country or their citizenship status.

For me, civic engagement and finding a sense of belonging in my local community goes beyond the parameters of a certificate and the accompanying privileges. I see citizenship as the everyday experience of contributing to my local community through responsible and active engagement. This, to me, is what it means to become Canadian.

Ruth Mojeed is a 2018–2019 ICC Fellow. For more information on the ICC Fellowship, visit https://www.icc-icc.ca/site/icc-fellowship.

Photo: Institute for Canadian Citizenship / Alyssa Faoro

By Ruth Mojeed