New Citizenship Rules Coming

There has been an interesting development in Canadian citizenship law. After April 17th, children who are born abroad and obtain Canadian citizenship, either through a citizenship application process, or by virtue of being born abroad to Canadian citizens, will no longer have the right of Canadian citizenship for any of their born-abroad children. Make sense?

Glen McGregor has put in more clearly in an Ottawa Citizen article you can find blogged here.

On the surface, this seems to be a reasonable law. Its intent, of course, is to prevent generations of people living outside the county, who have no ties to Canada other than a Canadian great-grandma, from having automatic Canadian citizenship. Fair enough.

But for those of us with internationally-adopted children, it is troubling. To be clear, this regulation won't affect my son, or any child who already has citizenship. But here's what the future scenario could be:

A family has one child by birth and one child by adoption. The adopted child was born in China (or Russia, or Taiwan, or Ethiopia, etc...). The family decides, when the children are teenagers, to leave Canada- maybe Mom lands a big job with a Fortune 500 company in the US (we'll imagine improved economic times, ok!?!). The kids go to high school and college in the States, they both fall in love and have their own children. The children of the non-adopted child have dual citizenship- Canadian and US. The children of the adopted sibling have NO claim to Canadian citizenship. SO, half the grandkids get to call themselves Canadian, half don't.

Is this fair?

Obviously, foreign-born-internationally-adopted Canadian kids are a special subset of born-abroad Canadians, who were not meant to be targeted by this new law. They require an exemption that is unambiguous and automatic.

Jason Kenney, are you listening?

Snow Day... sort of...

Well, the weather here is not so nice today. We're getting snow, with high winds and blizzard-like conditions expected before it all turns to rain. The schools were closed, so the kids are home. Campus wasn't closed, though. SO, I had a predicament: drag the kids out to my mother, go to class, try to get back home in the height of the bad weather OR make an executive decision and cancel class?

Since I'm blogging, you've probably figured out that I cancelled class.

First-time EVER. Unless the entire campus has been shut down, I have NEVER cancelled a class in 11 years. I have gone to class with mastitis and a fussy newborn being rocked in my office. I have taught class in the middle of a migraine (wow, that must have been fun for the students!). I've taught with laryngitis and stomach flu. I have driven to class and home again in the middle of more than one snowstorm.

But not today. And, amazingly, I feel no guilt at all.

A friend of mine said she started thinking differently about things the year she turned 40. Maybe that's what is going on here.

I LOVE 40!!!

Talking a little shop...

In my (a-hem) "professional" life, one of my growing research interests has been dog behaviour and cognition. I've been a dog and, for that matter, all other manner of living creature, fanatic since childhood (fact: I could identify most AKC and CKC-recognized breeds by age 11). Seeing as I get paid to study animal behaviour, it occurred to me a few years ago that maybe I should start thinking about working with domestic dogs (my research has been mostly bird-focused). Anyways, one fantastic collaborator and two graduate students later, the scienctific study of dog behaviour is starting to become a larger part of my world.

A few years ago, I ran into a book written by Jean Donaldson called "Culture Clash". I haven't met Jean irl but she is an ex-pat Canadian, she is irreverent, hilarious, and I agree with an awful lot of what she writes about dogs. Her latest book is linked below. I've not finished it yet, but it is a great read for anyone who lives with (or works with) dogs. While you are on her website, check out her Chow Buffy's blog (just too funny...)

Oh Behave!
jeandonaldson.com - Friday, 09 January 2009

© jeandonaldson.com

Welcoming 2009!

Wishing everyone the best that the new year has to bring!

Happy Holidays!!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season with friends and family close at hand, or close in heart!

Quick Photo Update

The Table Runner

I was recently inspired by a Christmas table runner that first appeared on Kathy Mack's fabulous blog, Pink Chalk Studio, in this post. As you can read for yourself if you visit her, the runner appeared on the cover of the Christmas/Holiday edition of Quilting Arts magazine.

I knew as soon as I saw the runner that I would have to make it. So, I rummaged through my fabric stash for Christmas material. Not quite enough. Shopping trip in order. Eventually, I made it to one of our local fabric stores and was completely wooed by fat quarters in autumn hues of gold, burgandy, orange, and green!! OK, so there's lots of time before Christmas, right? I bought the autumn fabric instead and made this:

The binding strip is the first one I've done that's cut on the bias. That was fun- and not half as much trouble as I imagined. Although I must have calculated incorrectly, since I should have had enough material for a 2.5 inch wide strip, but ended up cutting it an inch narrower to ensure I had enough! Sewing the binding strip by hand on the back always takes me ages, and it took a couple of free hours last night to finish it off.

I experimented with "stippling" while I quilted, using a varigated thread. I also did a little of free-motion quilting with my darning foot, and it turned out OK, I think. My quilting skill is still a work in progress!

The autumn version of this runner must have been meant to be, as Kathy has teased her blog readers with a new Christmas table runner that I think I'll do instead. Or maybe I'll make both of them. But, first, I need to finish my sweater. I've started the second sleeve.... projecting to have it done by the end of the long weekend (hey, I can always dream!!).