As we celebrate Canada Day, a local judge reflects on her career and the meaning of Canadian citizenship.
Suzanne Carrière is well known locally in Otterburne and St. Adolphe, where she grew up, for her roles as a youth curling coach, local volunteer, and loving wife and mom to three kids. What many don’t know is that she is Canada’s first Métis citizenship judge.
Since her appointment to the role on June 11, 2018, Carrière has dreamed of presiding over a first-of-its-kind citizenship ceremony, one in which all the ceremony officers and distinguished guests were Indigenous. In such a ceremony, those with ties to the very first citizens of this land would welcome new citizens.
Carrière met with Immigration Partnership Winnipeg in January 2019 to discuss her idea, and then approached APTN (the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) to see if they could make it happen.
The vision came true this year, on June 22, as part of APTN’s Indigenous day Live event. On that day, Canada welcomed 50 new Canadians from 16 different countries. Joining Carrière were elders Barb and Clarence Nepinak, of Pine Creek First Nation; Dr. Winston Wuttunee, of Red Pheasant First Nation; MP Robert Falcon Ouellette, of Red Pheasant First Nation; MLA Wab Kinew, of Onigaming First Nation; Caroline Taubensee, of APTN; Lt. Col. George McLeod from the Canadian Army, of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation; and Sergeant Alex Bear from the RCMP, of Peguis First Nation. The ceremony was clerked by Sharon Fletcher of Fox Lake First Nation.
Pursuing Law
Carrière pursued a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Criminology and Psychology, and after a casual conversation with an advisor, she applied to attend law school at the University of Calgary.
“Law was definitely not something I thought of for years and years,” says Carrière. “But it did seem true that it would open up more doors for me than what my plan was at the time.”
With parents who worked in the financial and agricultural sectors, Carrière inherited a strong work ethic and belief that she could do anything she set her mind to. Her decision to ultimately pursue law was founded on the notion that she’d be able to give back on social issues that were close to her heart, which for her meant Indigenous issues.
“Sue is the most real kind of person you can get,” says Anne Pruden, a co-worker and friend. “She is passionate, but also super smart and funny. Her ability to connect with people is one of her many strengths. She is one heck of a lawyer. She broke the mold of lawyers and led with her heart and emotion.”
In June 2018, Carrière began her career as a citizenship judge, following a lengthy application process. She is one of ten judges across Canada that performs the following responsibilities: reviews case files and makes decisions on citizenship applications, presides over citizenship ceremonies where the judge administers the oath of citizenship, emphasizes the rights and responsibilities of Canadians, and distributes citizenship certificates. Lastly, citizenship judges are responsible for promotional work that include outreach activities in schools or with newcomer organizations to raise awareness about the citizenship process, speaking about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and conveying the value and meaning of Canadian citizenship for newcomers and Canadian citizens alike.
Meaning of Canadian Citizenship
Most people don’t think about it much, but being born a Canadian citizen is a bit like hitting the citizenship jackpot. Canadian passports are considered the world’s fifth strongest passport and Canadians can travel to 56 countries without restrictions just because they were born in Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms reflects our national commitment to freedom, equality, inclusivity, and fairness. Many newcomers are beyond proud to receive their citizenship because of the Charter.
So what does it mean to be a Canadian citizen, and what are the responsibilities that come with that?
“It means being engaged in your community,” Carrière says. “It means giving back. It means volunteering. It means helping your fellow neighbours. It means voting. It means taking care of your family. It means obeying the laws, and everything it takes to be a good citizen. There are certainly a lot of rights that go with being Canadian, but there is certainly responsibility as well. It’s a two-way relationship. There’s a lot that we get from being Canadian, and we are certainly very lucky. There’s a whole identity that goes along with it. There is a sense of pride.”
She adds that the value of diversity is being challenged in the world today, and she takes every opportunity to reinforce the message that diversity is good for this country—that it makes us better and stronger.
“I want to share that people are welcome here,” she says. “And if they want to contribute to this country’s success, then I want to help them where I can in this role and by being and teaching what it means to be a good citizen.”
Career Highlights
Carrière has presided 156 ceremonies in Winnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach, Winkler, Thompson, Saskatoon, Calgary, Thunder Bay, and Windsor. The largest ceremony she’s presided over welcomed 253 new citizens at HMCS Chippewa, an event that was accompanied by a full marching band, honour guard, and colour guard. The smallest was a private oath-taking for one in her office, done on an emergency basis so that the new citizen could travel to his homeland to say goodbye to a dying parent.
Prior to becoming a citizenship judge, Carrière gained valuable experience working as a Department of Justice lawyer and with the Independent Assessment Process, a dispute resolution process that was established to resolve claims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse suffered at Indian Residential Schools. In that role, she heard approximately 200 firsthand accounts of abuse at the schools from survivors.
Carrière says that work was eye-opening and life-changing. She knew about residential schools before she got involved in the work, but hearing the actual stories, in the words and in the voices of survivors, gave her a new perspective of how destructive the schools really were.
Mostly, she says she just feels incredibly privileged to have been part of such important and historic work. To this day, she remains grateful to all the survivors she has met over the years for trusting her with their stories.
At a ceremony in April, Carrière had the privilege of engaging in a first for Canadian citizenship ceremonies—a marriage proposal between two new Canadians.
“During the presentation of citizenship certificates, two Middle Eastern men were called up to receive their certificates,” she says, describing the moment. “I had a quick chat with them, as I do with all new Canadians, but as they started to walk away, one of them quickly whispered in my ear that he wanted to propose to the other. He asked if that was possible, and I assured him it was. I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like that!”
Once the presentation of certificates was complete, Carrière called him up to the front of the room. In order not to give anything away, she explained to the crowd that he wanted to share with the group what this day meant to him. He came up to the front, then asked his partner to join him.
Still unsuspecting, his partner obliged.
Then he got down on one knee and proposed.
“His partner said yes, and the crowd went wild!” Carrière recounts. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house! It was so incredibly special and moving.”
Carrière later found out that the two men had been persecuted in their home country because of their sexuality, so they’d fled and come to Canada as refugees. To Carrière’s knowledge, it is the first time someone has proposed at a citizenship ceremony. It’s a moment she says she will never forget.
Reconciliation
The June 22 ceremony, part of this year’s Indigenous Day Live events, was preceded by discussion forums in which the new Canadians discussed what it means to be a Canadian citizen on treaty land and what reconciliation means. The forums were organized by Immigration Partnership Winnipeg and the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba.
Carrière believes in reconciliation and communicates this in her ceremonies.
“Senator Murray Sinclair, before he was a senator, when he was the chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I heard him speak,” Carrière says. “He said, ‘Reconciliation is a very simple concept. I want to be your friend and I want you to be mine.’ It’s very simple and it’s something that everyone can understand.”
At one point, she recounts that Senator Sinclair was asked how newcomers to Canada fit in with the larger story of reconciliation. After all, many newcomers won’t necessarily feel connected to the history of the Indigenous people and how that relationship has evolved.
“His comments back were, ‘Even if someone is not connected to the past history, anybody who has any interest in Canada’s future needs to care about reconciliation,’” she says. “That’s something that I feel passionate about and something that I talk about whenever I can in this role and with this work.”
The Neighbours
In October 2018, Gurjaspal (Jessi) Singh and Manpreet Dulay attended their citizenship ceremony after having been permanent residents for five years. Husband and wife, both employed in the IT sector, they had to wait four years before applying for Canadian citizenship. In their home country of India, their Sikh faith is considered a minority. They were fined in school for speaking their mother tongue of Punjab rather than Hindi or English.
As soon-to-be Canadians, they had no idea who would preside over their citizenship ceremony. Likewise, as a citizenship judge, Carrière has no idea ahead of time who the new citizens will be at any particular ceremony.
When Jessi and Manpreet came forward to receive their citizenship certificates at the ceremony, it was a pleasant surprise for Carrière . After all, the couple were her neighbours.
“We were happy and proud,” the couple says. “We finally feel connected. We have a place to call home. We can happily say we are Canadian and are included. We can vote now. It was quite emotional.”
Since receiving his citizenship, Jessi, on top of working full-time and pursing an MBA from the Asper School of Business, has put his name forward to be interviewed to join the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves. He is currently awaiting his security clearance.
“I want to serve the country and to give back to society,” Jessi says. “Canada has done so much for us. It has given us a place to call home. Even in the way Canada as a country has treated Sikhs—like Canada has made a Sikh the defence minister—it is the minimum that we can do.”
To all of us celebrating Canada Day, whether new or old, let’s take more than pictures. Let’s reach out to our neighbours and say hello. Let’s volunteer. Let’s show more empathy and inclusivity, and demonstrate by action that Canada really is one of the best countries in the world to live, learn, and grow.
