(Inland) Day of Action! - Sep 24th - Discussion

[civic]

Check out this infograph on the subject:

http://imgur.com/YQJFPhk



Thanks to Angie.

Wow looks like things are moving very fast in the Facebook page. People are becoming angry

 

[gsize]

had to reply. :

Try getting denied, appeal, wait again......total 5 years, $40.000.00


Although it can be tough for many people, I must say.......those who are least in Canada have no idea how lucky they are !!

Sorry, but those 'outland' from Visa required countries can be a nightmare !

Stay strong ! ;D

 

[thegorchess]

I don't know why people seem to be so negative towards people who are trying to make positive change in the system. It is really confusing to me.

 

[Kayaker]

I think the issue here is that many people don't see what positive change the protestors are looking for, other than "solve my problem!"

Everyone here has problems, some bigger, some smaller. We know that being apart from your partner for an indefinite amount of time is awful. We know that having only one income in a household is awful. We know that some of us can't have children because they don't have healthcare yet and cannot afford it. However, most of us do not feel that the Canadian government should deflect resources (time, money, staff) from other social problems so that they can solve our problems. In an ideal world, all our problems would be solved quickly and efficiently. But we recognize that we don't live in that ideal world, and that Canada is not that ideal country, and we must wait.

As frustrating as the wait for PR is, I can't say that the Canadian government should use more of their resources to help me, instead of another person. Canada has its share of social problems, and unfortunately, the problem of Canadians (and PR holders) not being able to live with their families at once is not a top priority.

We all made the choice to apply for PR. Most of us had no idea when we'd see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most of us still don't know when we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though months and years (in some cases) have passed. But it's a choice we made. We knew, when we applied, that the expected processing times on CIC's website were based on past statistics and did not guarantee what the wait times would be in the future. But we made the choice to apply.

I know this is a difficult and costly procedure. But so are most major life decisions, like deciding to have a baby, going back to school, or changing careers. It's a decision we made and we have to abide with the results.


By all means, write a letter to your MP, or go to their office in person and try to get them to listen to you, ask them to make an inquiry on your behalf. But shouting "make it go faster!" en masse isn't going to produce the result you want.

 

[thegorchess]

As a Canadian citizen when I pay for a government service I expect to get it in a timely manner. They have halted all work on inland applications in favour of outland and citizenship. Guess what? That means I have the right to complain and try to affect change. It is my right and obligation as a citizen to monitor the government and make sure it is serving the people.

Sure, if I didn't fall in love with a American and marry him this issue would never concern me. That is how people make change though. When people realize, first hand, how negatively a government program effects them they make a stink. That is the only way change comes about. Complacency doesn't bring change.

The Harper government transferred all of our files in January to CPC-M to increase processing times. However, at that time all ground to a halt. Are we not supposed to call them on that lie? I assume you are applying outland. Most of those discouraging us are. Maybe you should research our issues before you comment.

Finally, I really resent your claim that I am taking away from someone else by asking that my application, that I paid to be reviewed, be reviewed. That is unfair.

 

[poodledoodle]

Perhaps people react negatively at the suggestion of "flooding" CIC with complaints because it will have a real and tangible negative effect on future applicants. Every needless phone call to CIC costs CIC money, and that is less money (=time) spent on processing applications. I know that as my wife and I wait our turn, I get really frustrated thinking that it could take even one day longer because of such action. I also think there's a misguided view about processing times that may be behind this. People here have commented that they "signed up for" a certain wait time. No. The wait times are approximate and reflect the past, not necessarily an accurate prediction of the future. Perhaps there was a flood of inland applications because of the delays outland due to the strike.

When my wife and I applied outland, the strike was ongoing. We saw "14 months" for Manila and thought, well I bet that is going to increase. Some months later, a typhoon hit the Phillipines. CIC stated they would expedite certain applications from Manila. Although this turned out not to be the case, my wife and I assumed this meant new applications from Filipinos affected by the typhoon would receive priority treatment. We knew she did not fall into that category, and so we assumed it would mean a delay in her processing time. At the time we felt frustration at the thought of a delay but we did not assume she had a right to be processed within the "advertised" time. Nothing is guaranteed. We knew that risk.

I feel this is a confusion between rights and privileges. We all have the right to have our cases heard. We have a right to inquire if there are delays. The granting of PR to any of us or our spouses is not a right, it's a privilege. Insisting on having the right to work during the process or the right to be granted PR within the estimated time is naive. Exercising your right to protest is fine, unless it is in a non-constructive way that affects the rest of us. Each of will insist our case is legitimate, and of course delays are frustrating and CIC has its problems, but shouting 'me first' as a group is bound to be ineffective. Worse, and more offensive to me (and probably others here), it will have a slow-down effect, which hurts us all.

 

[poodledoodle]

@thegorchess Can you point to the article or press release that confirms CIC has halted inland application processing? I was unaware of that. I was under the impression that the "estimated processing time" had changed (albeit by a substantial amount.)

Regarding paying for a government service, do you really believe the approximately $1000 paid in each case is enough to cover the costs of processing the cases? That's not even enough money to cover the cost of one person's salary for one week. Perhaps CIC should charge what it costs in each case. It's not the same thing as paying to send a package by Purolator and getting a "delivery by date".

 

[MiriMinBC]

I think the issue here is that many people don't see what positive change the protestors are looking for, other than "solve my problem!"

Everyone here has problems, some bigger, some smaller. We know that being apart from your partner for an indefinite amount of time is awful. We know that having only one income in a household is awful. We know that some of us can't have children because they don't have healthcare yet and cannot afford it. However, most of us do not feel that the Canadian government should deflect resources (time, money, staff) from other social problems so that they can solve our problems. In an ideal world, all our problems would be solved quickly and efficiently. But we recognize that we don't live in that ideal world, and that Canada is not that ideal country, and we must wait.

As frustrating as the wait for PR is, I can't say that the Canadian government should use more of their resources to help me, instead of another person. Canada has its share of social problems, and unfortunately, the problem of Canadians (and PR holders) not being able to live with their families at once is not a top priority.

We all made the choice to apply for PR. Most of us had no idea when we'd see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most of us still don't know when we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though months and years (in some cases) have passed. But it's a choice we made. We knew, when we applied, that the expected processing times on CIC's website were based on past statistics and did not guarantee what the wait times would be in the future. But we made the choice to apply.

I know this is a difficult and costly procedure. But so are most major life decisions, like deciding to have a baby, going back to school, or changing careers. It's a decision we made and we have to abide with the results.


By all means, write a letter to your MP, or go to their office in person and try to get them to listen to you, ask them to make an inquiry on your behalf. But shouting "make it go faster!" en masse isn't going to produce the result you want.

Right now there is a major strike action here in BC, the teachers vs the government. They are being told the same thing. "You want too much. We can't do smaller class size, better composition, wage increases.". The same thing happened with nurses a while back. If every citizen of Canada rolled over and said, "Oh well, that's just how it is!", Canada would resemble a third world country. Protest and action and governments listening to people (in this case any Canadian citizens sponsoring spouses) is part of what makes Canada a first world nation.

 

[MissRepresentation]

Be very, very careful with using the privilege argument, because it often entails that only certain people 'deserve' to be granted the so-called privilege. Now, trying to ascertain the 'deservingness criteria' can quickly turn into a tricky situation with a lot of potential for racist and discriminatory comments. Being in Canada or being granted PR are privileges???? Let's replace privilege with 'option' and stop taking everything Canadian so seriously.

 

[fugaziosbourne]

I think the issue here is that many people don't see what positive change the protestors are looking for, other than "solve my problem!"

Maybe there is a chance of getting this office to operate with a little more honesty and transparency? I want this fixed for everyone. I'm not selfish and can have empathy for other people. What a concept.

Everyone here has problems, some bigger, some smaller. We know that being apart from your partner for an indefinite amount of time is awful. We know that having only one income in a household is awful. We know that some of us can't have children because they don't have healthcare yet and cannot afford it. However, most of us do not feel that the Canadian government should deflect resources (time, money, staff) from other social problems so that they can solve our problems.

Speak for yourself. I paid for this service and I want results.

In an ideal world, all our problems would be solved quickly and efficiently. But we recognize that we don't live in that ideal world, and that Canada is not that ideal country, and we must wait.

Maybe you're fine with being complacent, a lot of us are not.

As frustrating as the wait for PR is, I can't say that the Canadian government should use more of their resources to help me, instead of another person. Canada has its share of social problems, and unfortunately, the problem of Canadians (and PR holders) not being able to live with their families at once is not a top priority.

Once again, we paid for this.

We all made the choice to apply for PR. Most of us had no idea when we'd see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most of us still don't know when we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though months and years (in some cases) have passed. But it's a choice we made. We knew, when we applied, that the expected processing times on CIC's website were based on past statistics and did not guarantee what the wait times would be in the future. But we made the choice to apply.

I guess I was just naive to expect value for the service I paid for.

I know this is a difficult and costly procedure. But so are most major life decisions, like deciding to have a baby, going back to school, or changing careers. It's a decision we made and we have to abide with the results.

Speak for yourself. If you're fine with a broken system, by all means continue being negative towards those of us who are trying to make a difference.

By all means, write a letter to your MP, or go to their office in person and try to get them to listen to you, ask them to make an inquiry on your behalf. But shouting "make it go faster!" en masse isn't going to produce the result you want.

Our elected officials need to be aware of how we feel. They are losing potential votes over this nonsense. If we keep quiet, it will be business as usual.

 

[beholder69]

Yes, the wait times are "approximate". Going from 7 to 13 months and rising isn't approximate. You need an article to realize that the process has stopped? So 10 days worth of applications processed in 7 months is progress? 1 month with the date stuck on July 30th (including a trick of the date going back and forth), means they're processing applications right now to you?

You are wrong, we did "sign up" for a specific procedure. The waiting times might not be exact but they're out there to help people make choices, including on whether to apply inland or Outland, taking into consideration each family's unique situation. You also don't realize that if they keep that pace up, the processing time for 2014 applicants will rise to 3 or more years. Unlikely? Might be but with just accepting such standard changes all of a sudden without any explanations and sitting idle praying or anything, hoping the procedure starts again, is not something most people can or should do.

If they can't keep up with their posted standards OR they can't warn of upcoming changes/problems/delays OR they can't at least explain why the process has stalled, then there's no reason posting those times nor saying "give us a call if you have waited for more than that".

 

[fugaziosbourne]

Perhaps people react negatively at the suggestion of "flooding" CIC with complaints because it will have a real and tangible negative effect on future applicants.

Do you have any evidence to back that up?

Every needless phone call to CIC costs CIC money, and that is less money (=time) spent on processing applications.

It's safe to say they have a few people on staff to answer the phones. I doubt the ladies(or gentlemen) who are supposedly working on apps have to stop what their doing every time the phone rings in the office to play receptionist.

I know that as my wife and I wait our turn, I get really frustrated thinking that it could take even one day longer because of such action.

You should be more frustrated that they dropped everything to work on the backlog of citizenship apps. Are you telling me they couldn't do both? I guess if they did Chris Alexander wouldn't be able to brag on social media about clearing 9% of the backlog or whatever the number was.

I also think there's a misguided view about processing times that may be behind this. People here have commented that they "signed up for" a certain wait time. No. The wait times are approximate and reflect the past, not necessarily an accurate prediction of the future. Perhaps there was a flood of inland applications because of the delays outland due to the strike.

I doubt there was a "flood" of inland apps. There are approximately 8000 a year. That number doesn't change much from year to year.

I feel this is a confusion between rights and privileges. We all have the right to have our cases heard. We have a right to inquire if there are delays. The granting of PR to any of us or our spouses is not a right, it's a privilege. Insisting on having the right to work during the process or the right to be granted PR within the estimated time is naive.

I paid for this. I have a right(I can underline words too) to see some return on my investment.

Exercising your right to protest is fine, unless it is in a non-constructive way that affects the rest of us.

So what are your ideas for how we should handle this? You're offering nothing but criticism and offering no solutions.

Each of will insist our case is legitimate, and of course delays are frustrating and CIC has its problems, but shouting 'me first' as a group is bound to be ineffective.

We're all in the same boat. Feel free to offer any positive suggestions.

Worse, and more offensive to me (and probably others here), it will have a slow-down effect, which hurts us all.

Once again, do you have anything to back up that opinion? It's offensive to me when I see people on here suggesting prayer is a valid alternative to taking action and standing up for our rights. Whatever works for you I guess but don't try to stop the rest of us.

 

[lellen]

I think the inland process is absolutely horrible. I was part of the inland process, am now applying outland, and I can clearly see the difference. Yes, I am going to have to leave Canada and my husband for a while soon, but you know what, that compares NOTHING to the stress and the anxiety the inland application was causing me. My Visa Office abroad has been great, they reply to emails within hours, and I feel like they respect me and my husband enough to treat us like decent human beings. We'll be apart for a few months, but the stress on the relationship that an inland application causes is way worse. That is of course only in my case, but I fully support inlanders complaining to the government. I won't complain to the outland VO because so far I have nothing to complain about.

From the government's website:

If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives with you in Canada, use the Application for Permanent Residence in Canada—Spouse or Common-Law Partner;

OR,
If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives outside Canada, use the Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp


Isn't that misleading? It caused me to assume that I had to apply inland because we live in Canada. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. It's a process that is simply NOT working and if nobody does anything about it it will stay the same.

If people have a problem with their outland VO, then by all means protest! But don't stop other people wanting to make changes from doing so.

I fully support you inlanders, I know what you're going through.

 

[thegorchess]

I think the inland process is absolutely horrible. I was part of the inland process, am now applying outland, and I can clearly see the difference. Yes, I am going to have to leave Canada and my husband for a while soon, but you know what, that compares NOTHING to the stress and the anxiety the inland application was causing me. My Visa Office abroad has been great, they reply to emails within hours, and I feel like they respect me and my husband enough to treat us like decent human beings. We'll be apart for a few months, but the stress on the relationship that an inland application causes is way worse. That is of course only in my case, but I fully support inlanders complaining to the government. I won't complain to the outland VO because so far I have nothing to complain about.

From the government's website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp


Isn't that misleading? It caused me to assume that I had to apply inland because we live in Canada. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. It's a process that is simply NOT working and if nobody does anything about it it will stay the same.

If people have a problem with their outland VO, then by all means protest! But don't stop other people wanting to make changes from doing so.

I fully support you inlanders, I know what you're going through.

Thank you!

 

[mikeymyke]

I'm really glad I didn't apply inland. It always seemed like a horrible choice at the beginning. No ability to appeal, cannot leave the country, longer processing time. My wife's VO has a 31 month processing time for outland, but we took the time and effort to send in a strong application and as a result, my wife got passport request in just 5 months from the time we sent the initial application to Missisauga. We knew we would have to be apart for a while, but we figured that was better than the cons of applying inland, and also that's why we applied for a visitor visa, which was approved. By going outland, we saved almost a year of total processing time.