Federal government stalls on release of new Canadian citizenship guide

(Canadian Press) It’s been more than two years since work began on revising the controversial study guide for Canada’s citizenship test, but the federal government says it needs more time to work on the publication and has no set timeline for release.

Internal emails from the immigration department dating back to 2016 show officials were hoping the launch of the new guide could coincide with Canada 150 celebrations and the 70th anniversary of the Citizenship Act — events that took place over a year ago.

But so far, no official guide has materialized.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel says she believes bureaucrats were sent back to the drawing board after a draft copy of the revised guide, obtained last year by the Canadian Press, revealed the department had removed references to barbaric cultural practices, including female genital mutilation, as being against Canadian law — references that were added by the Stephen Harper government in 2011.

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