Re: “Permanent residents should be able to vote,” letter, April 1.

As an immigrant, I would like to disagree.

Although we became permanent residents in 1972, I did not become a citizen until 1978 and my husband not until 1992.

Neither of us ever expected to be able to vote, although we had Canadian-born children, owned a home and worked in Canada.

Until we became citizens, we had not fully committed to Canada and, as such, did not presume that we had a right to participate in its governance.

A landed immigrant can become a citizen after three years of continuous residence in Canada (or the equivalent of three years out of five years).

If they do not choose to do so (as we did not immediately do), they have not fully committed to Canada and do not deserve the privilege of the vote.

Cindy Swoveland

Victoria

Driving up Cook Street, I noticed that all the federal election signs for the NDP candidate and for the Liberal candidate were uprooted and laid down on the grass.

Some persons may have thought this was a harmless prank, but in fact it is an offence under the Criminal Code with penalties of up to two years in prison plus fines.

Removing an election sign is an assault on our democracy, elections being the only way we have of sending representatives to Parliament.

If you don’t like one candidate, vote with your ballot. Do not destroy the efforts of those trying to make democracy work. You are not doing your chosen candidate any favours.

M.D. (David) Hansen

Victoria

During the six years I served as a citizenship judge, I presided to welcome thousands of “Canadians in waiting” to Canadian citizenship.

The legislation directs citizenship judges to “impress on new citizens the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. The ceremony must promote good citizenship and emphasize the significance of the ceremony as a milestone in the lives of the new citizens.”

I often asked applicants why they wanted to have Canadian citizenship. Regularly the reply was, “So I can vote,” with a description of........

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