Random Access

Rudolf Czekalla got a decidedly chilly reception from City councillors Wednesday when he had the audacity to suggest they give more than lip service to the concept of civic "inclusivity."
The Mississauga resident probably had no idea of the reaction he would provoke from local politicians when he asked why the City bans non-citizens from sitting on its committees and advisory bodies.
(In some cases provincial legislation specifies committee members must be qualified as electors, meaning they need Canadian citizenship, but for many other bodies, there is no such rule.)
The city centre resident had directed a very civil letter to the municipality suggesting it was time for the "archaic" condition of citizenship to be dropped. That's already happened in other municipalities such as the City of Toronto, where Czekalla happens to work.
The multicultural nature of Mississauga and the large number of landed immigrants here make the rule outmoded, he argued.
"In the end, is not the fundamental essence of true citizenship more properly characterized by what an individual does to serve his or her community than by a mere piece of paper obtained by virtue of having lived in the country three or more years?"
Not according to Mayor Hazel McCallion and City council. They took real umbrage at the suggestion.
Under cross-examination from the mayor, Czekalla explained that he has German citizenship. Germany does not allow dual citizenship. For reasons "too complicated to get into," the 36-year-old said he didn't want to renounce his current citizenship to become a Canadian even though he's lived here 28 years.
"You’re not prepared to take that step that grants you privileges and freedom of speech. The citizenship of your (former) country is more precious to you than the one you're living in. Boy, that really bothers me," McCallion told Czekalla. "If (people) want to contribute I think they will go out of their way to get that piece of paper."
Let's suspend disbelief for a second and imagine that McCallion retired and moved to another country. If that happened, do you think Madame Mayor would renounce her Canadian citizenship?
And, if per chance, she wanted to use the benefit of her gazilion years of municipal experience to benefit her new community, wouldn't that be a really good idea?