Chief Warrant Officer Stokes becomes a Canadian citizen

February 3, 2023 - Defence Stories

Caption

CWO Dean Stokes of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment is presented his Canadian Citizenship by his Commanding and Presiding Officer for the ceremony, LCol van den Berg on 4 June, 2022 in Belleville, Ontario.

Photo credit – 4^th Canadian Division Imagery

June 4, 2021 was an historic day for The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, and possibly for the Canadian Army. In the early afternoon, the command team, via the Zoom platform, were met by their regimental honouraries and a citizenship clerk for the occasion of witnessing Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Dean Stokes take his Oath of Citizenship to become a Canadian citizen. The unique aspect of this citizenship ceremony was that the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel (LCol) Roy van den Berg was asked to be the volunteer presiding official for this occasion. In the weeks and days leading up to this occasion, it was highlighted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada Judge Albert Wong that it was likely the first time a Canadian Commanding Officer had administered an Oath of Citizenship to their Regimental Sergeants Major (RSM). Being an immigrant himself, the opportunity to have one naturalized Canadian administer the Oath of Citizenship was an honour and privilege deeply appreciated by LCol van den Berg.

CWO Stokes joined the Canadian Army Reserve after a long and successful career in the British Army where he served with the Parachute Regiment. His move to Canada was motivated by his wife Nicole who he met while serving in Sierra Leone years earlier. CWO Stokes joined The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment in 2017 while awaiting his immigration process to be completed. When appointed to the position of the unit’s RSM, the newly formed command team became quintessentially Canadian, being comprised of ‘new’ Canadians. LCol van den Berg became eligible to administer the Oath of Citizenship as a member of the Order of Military Merit. As CWO Stokes’ citizenship application was coming to fruition, he had broached the subject of LCol van den Berg being the Presiding Officer for his oath.

Pandemic realities have slowed, but not stopped the process of swearing in new Canadians. The ubiquitous use of video conferencing had created an opportunity for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to continue bringing new Canadians into the fold through the Zoom platform, with all steps of the process being closely followed by appointed citizenship clerks. It is through this platform where CWO Stokes met with the citizenship clerk to ensure the citizenship administration was verified and properly completed, as the Oath of Citizenship was administered on camera. Witnessing the ceremony through Zoom were members of both CWO Stokes’ families; his married and Regimental families. Warm words of congratulations from family members, Honorary Colonel Robert Graydon and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel Lee-Anne Quinn, made the ceremony a true family event.

It is an honour to welcome CWO Dean Stokes into his new family of Canadians.

PARATUS