Delivery to Mississauga

[Gumper]

It's probably already written somewhere in this forum but if you live in the Toronto area be aware that you cannot hand deliver your application to CIC at Robert Speck Pkwy in Missy! Yes, there are people there but, against all logic, no they will not accept your application in person. This is getting more Kafkaesque by the minute! (And they are behind glass, lest they be contaminated by the grimey masses

 

[zardoz]

It's probably already written somewhere in this forum but if you live in the Toronto area be aware that you cannot hand deliver your application to CIC at Robert Speck Pkwy in Missy! Yes, there are people there but, against all logic, no they will not accept your application in person. This is getting more Kafkaesque by the minute! (And they are behind glass, lest they be contaminated by the grimey masses

It actually says on the CIC web site that you can't... (or certainly used to).

 

[Ninirae]

It actually says on the CIC web site that you can't... (or certainly used to).

It still does. It says for courier purposes only...

 

[Gumper]

Postscript: The woman at CIC said to send it by courier to the PO Box, which is says NOT TO on the web site. Took it to the closest FEDEX, they said they have the same problem all the time, people try to drop off apps at CIC, are told they must be couriered to the PO BOX and FEDEX has to inform people that they DO NOT deliver to PO Boxes. The FEDEX person actually has their phone number "on speed dial" it's so frequent....she actually called the CIC while I was there to remind them once again (in not so polite terms!) to NOT tell people to send it to the PO BOX! Moral of the story I guess: Don't think because you live near the office that it will be easier for you! Aye aye aye. Well at least they'll have it tomorrow.

 

[automaton82]

Postscript: The woman at CIC said to send it by courier to the PO Box, which is says NOT TO on the web site. Took it to the closest FEDEX, they said they have the same problem all the time, people try to drop off apps at CIC, are told they must be couriered to the PO BOX and FEDEX has to inform people that they DO NOT deliver to PO Boxes. The FEDEX person actually has their phone number "on speed dial" it's so frequent....she actually called the CIC while I was there to remind them once again (in not so polite terms!) to NOT tell people to send it to the PO BOX! Moral of the story I guess: Don't think because you live near the office that it will be easier for you! Aye aye aye. Well at least they'll have it tomorrow.

Your story is probably the best example I can think of to illustrate just how inefficient, bloated and incompetent our government, and unfortunately many government jobs, are. As a Canadian citizen, and someone who loves Canada, it's my biggest gripe with this country. I wish somebody (somebody who isn't harper or trudeau) would come in and modernize the government and run it like a business.

I've traveled quite a bit, and dealt with some other 1st world governments that do not suffer from such "entitlement to do a bad job" that our government, and unions, seem to encourage -- although they are certainly not without their flaws either.

 

[Gumper]

Well said automaton82!

Another gripe I had with this whole process was the medical exam in Manila. I was visiting at the time, so went with my wife & her son for the exam. First of all they tell you that you need an "appointment", so we got one for 8:00am. Or so we thought. That 8:00am "appointment" is actually just a spot in line for the day. I guess they know how many patients they can handle & all, and we were done by 1pm so not really a big deal -- they do advise you on booking that you could spend a good part of the day at the clinic so fair enough. I just thought the CIC web site and/or the clinic could be a bit more transparent about the "appointment" that is actually a hold to be served on a first come first served basis. We got caught in morning traffic on the way and were freaking out that we would miss our 8:00am "appointment" time!

What was much worse was that the clinic told us they couldn't do two of the blood tests, nor did they have a pediatrician on staff to complete the child's exam. My wife had to return to her city and take a day off work to complete these things so they could be COURIERED back to the Manila clinic (who said it had to be done asap). Again, no mention on the CIC web site that additional medical exams AND costs could arise beyond the 7000 pesos (about $140) that I understood would cover the entire exam at the approved clinic. Anyway, just hoping we've submitted a good application & don't have any more snafus with these people.