I immigrated from the United States in 1975. Here I was subsequently granted Canadian citizenship. I later jumped numerous paperwork hurdles culminating in my receiving a document entitled "Certificate of loss of nationality of the United States."
This remains one of my most precious documents. My rejection of U.S. citizenship required a final interview at the fortified U.S. consulate in Vancouver. At this interview I was asked why I chose to reject American citizenship. My reply was that "a man cannot ride two horses."
This is now truer than ever.
In these days of the Trump regime, reportedly supported by some 60 per cent of the American electorate, it is obvious that one cannot simultaneously be a truly loyal American and a loyal Canadian.
It is time for those 600,000 Americans who choose to live here, enjoying the privileges and rights of Canadians, to select where their loyalties lie. And, by the same token, those Canadians living south of the border should make the same choice and act according to their consciences.
James Loughery
Prince George
