We still have a foreign person, a queen living in a castle on another continent -- Victoria's great, great, granddaughter, in fact -- as Canada's head of state. And it's a pretty safe bet that Canada isn't on her mind a whole lot either, if at all. So why do we put up with it? Without question, Canada deserves to have its own head of state, chosen by us and from among our citizens. How have we made it this far without taking the final step to full nationhood? The reason lies with misinformation.

Not all oral confirmations are created equal. Take Canada's oath of citizenship. A bunch of people are challenging it before an Ontario judge at the moment on the basis that it's neither a meaningful symbol nor a useful tradition, just an absurd and oppressive indignity. It's not a welcome. It's a hazing.

A group of immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship are going to court and demanding to cede the oath to "her Majesty Queen Elizabeth." There is a simple answer to this non-problem. Don't move here. Don't move to one of the 43 nations with a monarchy either.