After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

1947 Canadian Immigration Act

Not your standard new Canadian

Canadian Sandra Burke was denied her Ontario pension in 2009 on the grounds that she was not a Canadian. On Dec. 21, the Canadian became Canadian. Confused? Read on...

Kafkaesque citizenship laws bestow rights, and take them away

Navigating the extensive family of Canadian citizenship laws leaves a paper cut that could shred a moose. There is the son, Bill C–37, (male personal pro-noun intentional); the father, 1977...

Canadian Sandy Burke's fight for Canadian citizenship, health care and Old Age Security

“The problem is that they have sewn the laws so tight that people like Sandy can’t get through,” Pam Murray said of her mother-in-law who waited her turn to speak on the phone. “Sandy does not have a...

Bill C-37 and the bureaucratic nightmare

The Canadian Citizenship Act has been repeatedly amended but never rewritten. On April 17, 2009, when thousands of people are said to have woken up Canadian (though most assumed they were anything...