Free at Last!
As I mentioned earlier, the purpose of my visit to Seattle today was to put the lid on the final steps of my immigration to Canada, which occurred in a number of steps throughout the day.
I found it tremendously interesting that for the 8am-11am "Anyone who needs a visa" hour, the Canadian consulate runs all entrants through a metal detector and x-rays all their possessions. However, for the 1:30pm-2:00pm "Permanent residents pick up their new visa" hour, the metal detector and x-ray machine were turned off and tucked against the wall. I guess if you're kosher enough to be granted Permanent Resident status, you're trusted not to have a weapon in your pants.
This was such a long, drawn out process (nothing compared to immigrating to the US, I'm told, but still, it's been 2 years in the works) that it feels weird that it's more or less over. I keep looking at my shiny new permanent resident visa with awe, like it's not really real.
I should be receiving my Permanent Resident card in the mail in 4-6 weeks, until which I'm not supposed to leave the country, if I can help it (at least not by air, anyway), and then the process will be really complete. But it feels final enough, especially since my returned passport and visa also included a couple of pages of "welcome to Canada" sorts of messages and advice, including a comment that as a permanent resident, I now enjoy all the rights and privileges of a Canadian citizen except for right to vote or hold public office, and the requirement to spend 2 out of every 5 years in Canada. It tells me that these rights particularly include freedom of religion.
I guess I never realized I was missing out on freedom of religion before.
So what's a nearly-atheist agnostic supposed to do with this newfound freedom? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps now I have the chance to drop out of the Anglican Church, should anyone have previously compelled me to join it (is this what happens to the temporary residents who don't have freedom of religion?), and become a non-believing Unitarian, Jew, Sikh, Muslim, Baha'i follower, just because I can. And celebrate by importing $10,000 worth of customs-free merchandise, because I can. (I have a new Mac Mini, by the way. Is there a religion for that?)
I found it tremendously interesting that for the 8am-11am "Anyone who needs a visa" hour, the Canadian consulate runs all entrants through a metal detector and x-rays all their possessions. However, for the 1:30pm-2:00pm "Permanent residents pick up their new visa" hour, the metal detector and x-ray machine were turned off and tucked against the wall. I guess if you're kosher enough to be granted Permanent Resident status, you're trusted not to have a weapon in your pants.
This was such a long, drawn out process (nothing compared to immigrating to the US, I'm told, but still, it's been 2 years in the works) that it feels weird that it's more or less over. I keep looking at my shiny new permanent resident visa with awe, like it's not really real.
I should be receiving my Permanent Resident card in the mail in 4-6 weeks, until which I'm not supposed to leave the country, if I can help it (at least not by air, anyway), and then the process will be really complete. But it feels final enough, especially since my returned passport and visa also included a couple of pages of "welcome to Canada" sorts of messages and advice, including a comment that as a permanent resident, I now enjoy all the rights and privileges of a Canadian citizen except for right to vote or hold public office, and the requirement to spend 2 out of every 5 years in Canada. It tells me that these rights particularly include freedom of religion.
I guess I never realized I was missing out on freedom of religion before.
So what's a nearly-atheist agnostic supposed to do with this newfound freedom? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps now I have the chance to drop out of the Anglican Church, should anyone have previously compelled me to join it (is this what happens to the temporary residents who don't have freedom of religion?), and become a non-believing Unitarian, Jew, Sikh, Muslim, Baha'i follower, just because I can. And celebrate by importing $10,000 worth of customs-free merchandise, because I can. (I have a new Mac Mini, by the way. Is there a religion for that?)