CBC news update about oath ceremonies and tests

[hardnut]

Came across a CBC news item today about IRCC oath ceremonies and tests ;

1. 7000 ONLINE oath ceremonies completed during the pandemic , with 17500 new citizens being sworn in.

2. IRCC is now working towards a target of 2000 new citizens /week thru on-line ceremonies.
(2019 average was about 4700 new citizens/week thru personal ceremonies).

3. IRCC is looking at alternatives to providing citizenship tests.
But one lawyer says it is very hard to prevent abuse and cheating during on-line testing if that is considered.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid19-pandemic-immigrants-citizenship-1.5720917

 

[mbv747]

Why not conducting tests in person with respecting social distancing and Masks ?
Why not via a Drive Through like US did ?
I don't understand why it's possible to write a driving licence Test ( in person) and not a the citizenship ... This government is disappointing immigrants , Canada will become less attractive for them ! my friend in Belgium got his citizenship within 4 months after applying

 

[Copingwithlife]

Came across a CBS news item today about IRCC oath ceremonies and tests ;

1. 7000 ONLINE oath ceremonies completed during the pandemic , with 17500 new citizens being sworn in.

2. IRCC is now working towards a target of 2000 new citizens /week thru on-line ceremonies.
(2019 average was about 4700 new citizens/week thru personal ceremonies).

3. IRCC is looking at alternatives to providing citizenship tests.
But one lawyer says it is very hard to prevent abuse and cheating during on-line testing if that is considered.

I’d probably recheck your news source
It’s CBC, I’m pretty sure that CBS which is an American news source doesn’t really care about the Citizenship issues in Canada

CBC= Canada Broadcasting Corporation
CBS=. Columbia Broadcasting System

 

[hardnut]

I’d probably recheck your news source
It’s CBC, I’m pretty sure that CBS which is an American news source doesn’t really care about the Citizenship issues in Canada

CBC= Canada Broadcasting Corporation
CBS=. Columbia Broadcasting System

Sorry, my fault. Meant to write CBC . Just edited it to CBC.

 

[issteven]

Came across a CBC news item today about IRCC oath ceremonies and tests ;

1. 7000 ONLINE oath ceremonies completed during the pandemic , with 17500 new citizens being sworn in.

2. IRCC is now working towards a target of 2000 new citizens /week thru on-line ceremonies.
(2019 average was about 4700 new citizens/week thru personal ceremonies).

3. IRCC is looking at alternatives to providing citizenship tests.
But one lawyer says it is very hard to prevent abuse and cheating during on-line testing if that is considered.

link?

 

[dolphus1988]

link?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid19-pandemic-immigrants-citizenship-1.5720917

 

[Masplong]

The problem we are facing here is how powerful and strong the The Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) is.
As mbv747 mentioned above, why are driving knowledge tests allowed and not citizenship tests? I would imagine that both tests are more or less administered the same way, that is, you take the test on a computer while an attendant watches you and makes sure you're not cheating. Simple as that. With social distancing measures in place, even if they're conducting one third the number of the pre-covid daily tests, I am sure everyone of us would be happy with that as it is definitely better than no tests at all.
The CEIU doesn't care that all of us paid a hefty amount for this service in advance. All they care about is to make sure their members are getting paid while doing the bare minimum of work.
I would encourage everyone to write to their MP and hopefully that would put some pressure on the government and get the wheels rolling again. Otherwise, the backlog might take years to clear.

 

[Marooned2]

I think no one in government wants to take the risk. If covid outbreak happens in one of the centers, it will be a massive responsibility which no one is brave enough to take it. It will be game over for the ones who are responsible.

 

[Spielo]

One thing that nobody's talking about with regards to the tests is that they are completely meaningless and pointless.

There is no tangible benefit to anyone having completed a citizenship test, it's entirely a political thing. Its content even varies depending on whatever is "on brand" for whichever of the two Permitted Neoliberal Political Parties are in power.

Given that the current government plans to scrap citizenship fees, scrapping the citizenship test would be a good way to keep costs down. It's completely unnecessary and worthless, just get rid of it.

 

[KRP]

https://www.cicnews.com/2020/09/online-canadian-citizenship-testing-is-no-quick-fix-0915823.html#gs.g4b5n8

 

[ms453]

Does anyone here like me also feel the Canadian government has deliberately slowed down the citizenship process because they don't want good earning tax payers to leave when the govt needs their tax money the most to fund COVID expenses? I think the reason is just as simple as that considering immigration into the country is way down.

 

[ms453]

It's pretty simple if you look at it that way - if few people are entering the country with money from their homelands to come to Canada, get a job where you're paid lower than most other countries (I work in tech) then few people should be able to leave. It works for the govt because these are people with good jobs who produce tax dollars, have low healthcare expense with lower wages, keep the consumption engine going and tend to buy overpriced houses just to avoid the FOMO.

 

[Coco7]

Does anyone here like me also feel the Canadian government has deliberately slowed down the citizenship process because they don't want good earning tax payers to leave when the govt needs their tax money the most to fund COVID expenses? I think the reason is just as simple as that considering immigration into the country is way down.

This sounds too much like a conspiracy theory to me. We must remember that we are in the middle of a pandemic, which has changed our everyday lives in unexpected ways, I'm not condoning the government response at all, in fact, I've been tweeting non stop about the issue, but to a certain degree is natural that services like the Citizenship grant gets delayed. The majority of PRs can leave Canada if they want or need (I did it myself at the begining of the pandemic) so is not like the Canadian goverment is trying to keep you lock inside the country.

 

[Flandernss]

Yeah man, I don't quite get this lack of tests.... Transform the test into a simple virtual interview (actually, I think such "knowledge of Canada" interviews was even an occasional alternative to the paper-based test already before COVID): there should be no issue with cheating then, and no more issues with verifying identity than there is with virtual Oaths.

 

[harirajmohan]

Does anyone here like me also feel the Canadian government has deliberately slowed down the citizenship process because they don't want good earning tax payers to leave when the govt needs their tax money the most to fund COVID expenses? I think the reason is just as simple as that considering immigration into the country is way down.

As far as i know, the processing times have been reduced from 4 years in 2012 to 2 years in 2015(or so) to 1 year in 2019. So i dont think that your assessment is correct.