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Citizenship test: Collective action required, or expect endless delays, years. Example of the effective lobbyng of people awaiting spousal sponsorship

piotrqc

Hero Member
Aug 10, 2020
391
451
Hello everyone,

It's incredible ! ... Exactly as I predicted in my initial message, there were indeed many people who came to try to dissuade us IN ALL WAYS from expressing ourselves, and to work together to advance our cause and plan concrete and useful actions.

They do that either with the soft method: By trying to reassure us, and tell us that we must not stress, that everything will be fine as in the world of telletubies, and that we must have blind trust in IRCC who is looking for to find a solution quickly - while this is false, it is simply a question of totally hypotetic speculation ... For example, union of federal employees is very powerful, and will not allow a return to work anytime soon, only work from home (the last note to IRCC employees whose link has already been shared here confirms this), not to mention the other indicators I have already cited which confirm that the situation is serious and will likely last for years to come (and other years still if we do nothing) -, or they do it with the hard method: By telling us that we are not allowed to have human feelings like worrying or having legitimate concerns, or to express ourselves or to consider act any action, which will be useless anyway according to them ... Also those who look down on us, who imply that we are potential cheaters, and who tell us that it is already a privilege to be here, to consider ourselves happy with our situation and to do with it, and to be silent ... Other people who benefit from the deconfinement plans of their provinces, and who can go in person to the service canada office , the post office, and even at the Cinema! ... But who continue to invoke the pandemic to scare us and indefinitely justify the blockage ... (Because it suits them in their interior, we must not lie to ourselves)

Let’s no longer fall into their traps! ... As far as I am concerned, I would no longer respond to the provocations of these negative people, who try to discourage us with counterproductive remarks and not useful for us ... And who are quite simply OFF SUBJECT. Let's be smarter than them, I suggest not to answer them anymore.

The freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly are guaranteed by the supreme law of the country, the charter (or constitution). End of the story. Nothing more to add. We should not dwell on these procedural flaws as the lawyers say.

Back on topic .

I originally created this post to see the possibilities of benefiting from the experience of people trying to move the spousal sponsorship issue forward. Gather as much information as possible on their way of doing things, of federating, and of lobbying ... I collected some useful information:

The first thing I noticed is that these people have created a keyword, a hasstag to get together #prioritizefamilysponsorship , and that they don't hesitate to put it absolutely everywhere to have a maximum of visibility. An example that can be seen here, in an IRCC facebook post that has absolutely nothing to do with sponsorship, all comments include the unifying hasstag. See here:

https://zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=20/33/5bb5.jpg


What do you think of the relevance of making one? And if agree, which one do you suggest?


Now I will list what can be done in order. This is what I found, do not hesitate to say your opinions and proposals:

- Contact your federal deputies. You have to contact the one in our riding at the federal level. You have here a complete overview of ALL the deputies with their respective contact details (You have to click on the face of the deputies who concern us, then go to the `` contact '' tab to have their phone number and email address)

* Lists of deputies in English: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/search
* The same list in French: https://www.noscommunes.ca/Members/fr/recherche

In this regard, can someone write us a standard form that everyone can use, and of which only the private details of the person sending the email (name, address, telephone, etc.) should be changed?

- Call IRCC customer service to get news (They will certainly just recite a standard text to make you wait, but the more we call, the more it could possibly alert them ... For having already worked in customer support, I know that ALL calls should be logged by the agent in customer file management software. They should write a box for each call based on my experience (reason for call)
Telephone: 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only)
Automated telephone service (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
If you have a touch-tone telephone you can listen to pre-recorded information about our programs, and check the status of your application.
Client Support Center agents - Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., your local time, except for statutory holidays. Services are available in French and English.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/client-support-centre.html

- Finally, the most important thing and which will have the most visibility and effectiveness in my opinion, is to hold simultaneous demonstrations in front of IRCC offices on the same day ... It will certainly attract the press, and maybe will force IRCC to at least listen and know that we exist ... The number is not important as we have seen in the case of spouses sponsors: A few demonstrators were enough. The power of the media is phenomenal, it should not be underestimated.
I think that ideally we should try to organize this before the first snowfall in the big cities where there is a local IRCC office ... The climate may discourage people from going out.

I am curious to know how the people concerned with spousal sponsorship managed to organize themselves to schedule the demonstrations, and what support or social networks they used effectively? ... Who followed the case and who can we tell more?

Thanks everyone.

, Piotr
 
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fr72

Hero Member
Jan 6, 2017
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Are you negating the impact of covid? How many corporations and even countries have been able to get back to normal since March? I suggest you take a chill pill as nothing you say here can change current status before new measures are in place.
If nothing we say here is going to change things, why are you so worried about people speaking up? How about you take a chill pill given that you think everything is just fine?
 

fr72

Hero Member
Jan 6, 2017
375
253
(Or you are among the people who prefer to watch from afar without doing anything ... And quietly harvest the fruit of the efforts of others when it succeeds lol)
So true! I remember some of these same anti-immigrants were opposing Bill C-6 which removed 2nd class citizenship. Now they are telling us we should be grateful that it's only 3 years. Instead, they should be grateful to the people who made the noise about C-24. If everyone had their attitude, we would have 4 years needed and the citizenship we got could be revoked for flimsy reasons.

I wonder if any of those anti-immigrants waited an extra year to apply for citizenship. After all, longer the wait, more prestigious the citizenship is their logic, right?
 
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myscanada

Star Member
Sep 7, 2018
125
39
I had no intention of wandering into the weeds regarding the particular measures IRCC should adopt in the current situation. And I still don't. NOT worth it. We do not know anywhere near enough about what IRCC is actually doing to second-guess its ongoing response to Covid-19.

Albeit slowly, it appears IRCC is actively engaged in addressing the situation with an agenda to restore application processing. There are no indicators suggesting cause to doubt the integrity, ability, or intentions of those in the government pursuing these efforts, let alone to suggest that the government is not engaged in such efforts. There is no cause to second-guess what IRCC is doing.

In particular, there is NO reason to believe that IRCC will fail to take appropriate, reasonable steps to proceed with grant citizenship applications.

Those who have a grant citizenship application in process, or who will be submitting an application in the near future, have NO REASON to WORRY about this. Which, again, is not to overlook the fact that the process is going to take longer now. Yes, it will take longer.

And to be clear, the point of my observations is not to discourage those who will engage in activist measures; for those inclined to "mobilize today before tomorrow," and to "make noise, protest, and demand solutions . . . " Have at it. Recruit your Sancho Panza and pick your windmills.

But pretending to not incite undue, exaggerated fear, while banging "horror scenario" drums, will NOT fly without some push back. Not here. This forum has many functions, ranging from a place to share or vent even, to a place where immigrants make an effort to help one another. Unfortunately, like similar venues, it is vulnerable to exaggerations, distortions, misinformation, and sometimes outright fear-mongering.

Let's be clear. And honest.

As I have said, YES, the process will go longer now. Duh! Not because of incompetence, deliberate disregard, or malfeasance. Not due to the influence of hostility toward immigrants. But because there is a global pandemic happening, the worst of it looming large within 200k of the vast majority of Canadians, and IRCC is a large bureaucracy . . . remembering, bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does . . . which rarely suggests doing anything quickly and definitely does not suggest rapid adaptation.

In contrast, for example, despite claims otherwise (asserting "with all due respect to you . . . "), @piotrqc deliberately misstates what I say:


No, I never said the "outcome of the proceeding will take'a little longer'." Actually I said "Yes, it will take longer now. It appears that it could be quite a bit longer."


Is this difference a big deal? So what @piotrqc misquotes, twists words . . . is this twisting words just a little?

Consider another disclaimer @piotrqc asserts: "I do not want to be pessimistic and scare you to the extreme . . . "


Yeah, there's a "but."

No particular emphasis on the "BUT" in this, BUT what followed that "but" conflates the current situation, adapting procedures during and in the wake of a global pandemic, with the threat of a major upheaval in government implementing draconian anti-immigrant policies and AS IF this would threaten the processing of those who have already qualified for and made an application for citizenship. Regarding which @piotrqc asserts "Everything I have said is not science fiction, it is very likely and very possible!" Again, AS IF even those who have already qualified for and made an application for citizenship are at risk. A very likely risk.

The current situation is about a process that is bogged down due to the difficulty a huge bureaucracy is having dealing with procedures which for decades have involved an intensive in-person and person-to-person process, for fairly large groups of people at a time, and more recently which typically has involved around TWO HUNDRED thousand individuals year-to-year, year-in and year-out. This is real. There are problems. There are difficulties. There are people in the government tasked with addressing the problems, the difficulties.

To conflate the current situation with the prospect of a draconian shift in government toward stripping immigrants of their rights is more than exaggerating, let alone more than "exaggerating a little bit."

Sure, a shift resulting in a Conservative government will not favour immigration or immigrants. That much is true. I will for-sure participate and do what I can, personally, to oppose the Conservatives returning to power. For lots of reasons.

But to suggest that it is "very likely" there is going to be any shift in the Canadian government, anytime in the foreseeable future, that would result in changes in the law that rendered currently qualified citizenship applicants no longer qualified is FAR-FETCHED. That would in effect take away citizenship from those who are qualified and already have an application in process. NO. That is NOT in the realm of any practical possibility let alone at all likely. And to suggest otherwise is indeed extreme. Not even the Harper-Perrin-Kenney-Alexander government's most draconian measures, which were draconian enough to hand the Conservatives their worst defeat in a long time in the next election, so much as bore a whiff of such extreme measures.

But apart from that, there is such a huge, huge gap between the one and the other, there is no cause to believe mobilizing protests about how long it is taking IRCC to proceed with testing and interviewing citizenship applicants would be, in any way, activism against or preventing a future election leading to a Conservative government that is less friendly to immigrants. The two simply are NOT related enough.

Which brings this back to banging the "horror scenario" drums about the potential influence of those who are "hostile to immigration" . . .



It is precisely the latter, the extent to which anxiety and fear are normal, which concerns me when exaggerated nightmare scenarios are cited as reason to emphasize, in bold and underline . . .



It bothers me when people's normal fears and anxieties are exploited and abused.

Again, NO, those who have a citizenship application in process, who know they are qualified, and who come to this forum looking for information and guidance, do NOT need to apprehend the Canadian government might fail to process their citizenship application. It will get done. Regardless who or why or how many carry signs and make noise in the streets of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, or elsewhere in Canada.
Very well put @dpenabill

All people who want to mobilize forces for getting a citizenship, can you run a company with only 50 employees to deal with, you will know what protocols,. etc, you have to follow, then there is staff anxiety and numerous other things.

All those people who think processing 200K applications for citizenship grant alone is a cake walk, think again, your not buying a cup cake at walmart. Its serious real stuff here.

Lets appreciate the fact we are in one of the safest places to love even in this pandemic, lets be grateful, and be patient, the time will come, things will probably be better.

Each one of us have our own battles, with staying put, lets stay put be patient, be grateful, appreciate what we have rather than throw water on what we have and crib about what we dont have.

Lets keep the vibe positive.
 

prash42

Hero Member
Jun 1, 2014
291
176
Very well put @dpenabill

All people who want to mobilize forces for getting a citizenship, can you run a company with only 50 employees to deal with, you will know what protocols,. etc, you have to follow, then there is staff anxiety and numerous other things.

All those people who think processing 200K applications for citizenship grant alone is a cake walk, think again, your not buying a cup cake at walmart. Its serious real stuff here.

Lets appreciate the fact we are in one of the safest places to love even in this pandemic, lets be grateful, and be patient, the time will come, things will probably be better.

Each one of us have our own battles, with staying put, lets stay put be patient, be grateful, appreciate what we have rather than throw water on what we have and crib about what we dont have.

Lets keep the vibe positive.
Surprised to see so much pushback against those attempting to organize. I believe the right to mobilize, the right to publicly voice our views including asking the government to do better... these are rights that liberal democracies like Canada stand for. If I were IRCC or the immigration minister, I would take those views into consideration.

Appreciation and gratefulness for Canada as a country does not mean IRCC leadership gets a free pass. I also agree that IRCC is doing important work. But offering that a reason for their failure to adapt is a deflection. IRCC can do a vastly better job than they currently are. There are several examples of businesses with considerably larger workforces and far more complex operations than IRCC, that are doing an impressive job of adapting to the changed reality. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee.
 
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robteix

Star Member
May 7, 2019
132
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So, again to be clear, there is NO need to fear that the Canadian government will not reasonably proceed with the grant citizenship process.
I'm with you in most of your post but I'd like to point out that the "rule-of-law" is relative when the rules themselves change. I don't think the IRCC will break the rules or something. I'm afraid the rules will change.

I'm ok with waiting until the IRCC eventually manages to go ahead with my test, which was cancelled days before the scheduled date. I'm fine with waiting

What worries me is rules changing as they did back when last the Tories won an election. My fear is having my citizenship application cancelled again like my PR was back then because the new government wants to make it harder for us to become citizens.

Now, there is indeed nothing certain about a snap election happening and then there might be nothing to worry about. But I would love for some reassurance that those of us who are already in the process will continue under the original rules.
 
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piotrqc

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Aug 10, 2020
391
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I'm with you in most of your post but I'd like to point out that the "rule-of-law" is relative when the rules themselves change. I don't think the IRCC will break the rules or eBay thing. I'm afraid the rules will change.

I'm ok with waiting until the IRCC eventually manages to go ahead with my test, which was cancelled days before the scheduled date. I'm fine with waiting

What worries me is rules changing as they did back when last the Tories won an election. My fear is having my citizenship application cancelled again like my PR was back then because the new government wants to make it harder for us to become citizens.

Now, there is indeed nothing certain about a snap election happening and then there might be nothing to worry about. But I would love for some reassurance that those of us who are already in the process will continue under the original rules.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7268645/we-charity-bloc-quebecois-fall-election/

To be afraid is legitimate.
 
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devnill

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Dec 5, 2015
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Do people forget that it was the Harper government who brought in Express Entry which was a huge improvement on the previous system? All major partys (except maybe for BQ) accept that immigration is key to growing Canada's economy. The biggest change I would see with a Conservative government is maybe the return to 4 years residence for citizenship and some reduction in numbers accepted under EE and family reunification.
 

canvis2006

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Testing should be scrapped anyway, specially in pandemic.
Just check the documents, make sure people are eligible, and give them oath or even scrap the oath and just give them citizenship.
That's easy. CommonSense. Seriously.

Otherwise people will be stuck waiting months and years without PR Cards, Citizenships, Visas. etc
Might as well tell people to just not bother coming here, shut immigration programs if you (IRCC) cannot handle the load/demands. Why continue to accept piles and piles of files when you cannot process them at all
 

robteix

Star Member
May 7, 2019
132
57
Yeah, I saw it this morning. Back in 2007 while my wife and I were applying for PR the recently elected Harper government decided to change the rules. They froze all immigration processes for a few months while new rules were created. Then they announced the new rules and that the backlog had grown too much and decided to return all applications while asking people to reapply under the new rules.

This is my only fear to be honest. I really don't mind waiting but I fear that if the backlog continues to grow, they eventually decide to just reset the whole thing again.
 

devnill

Hero Member
Dec 5, 2015
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Testing should be scrapped anyway, specially in pandemic.
Just check the documents, make sure people are eligible, and give them oath or even scrap the oath and just give them citizenship.
That's easy. CommonSense. Seriously.
That would require a change to the Citizenship Act.
 

robteix

Star Member
May 7, 2019
132
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That would require a change to the Citizenship Act.
yeah. I wonder if even changing to online testing wouldn't be a bit of a struggle. There's training, new rules. None of these things is fast. I sort of resigned to accepting that my test won't be happening this year and I'm trying to keep optimistic that it might still happen next year.
 

Ladymarie

Star Member
Jul 1, 2020
89
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Why are exams held at all?

FYI: Not all exams are administered in a controlled environment. Ever heard of take-home exams? Or open book exams?
So you are advocating that the concept of having exams should be eliminated? Whether proctored or not, any exam is controlled. So why are they controlled?