A Must Read : Experts raise concerns about citizenship rules

[vic48912]

This is good -- th stuff is the one place, in my opinion, where an American literally has no idea what is going on. The Canadian government is not easy to understand, stuff like 'proroguing' and 'Right of the Queen in Canada' is all gibberish. But this doesn't come up in daily life . . .

I don't have qualms with the updated Canadian military part in the study guide as it show case Canadian military exploit. I never knew Canada could kick ass and burn down American White House, in fact I was really touched when I took a tour of Parliament building in Ottawa recently and was fascinated with the peace tower reading names of those that have sacrifice their life in Canadian militarily adventures...Boer war, spanish civil war, ww1, ww2 etc.....My established Canadian friends are surprise with my knowledge of Canadian history thanks to Discovery Canada booklet... Where I find problematic is references and the use of the word 'immigrant barbaric culture' like FGM...... that section ought not to be in that booklet......I read in the news that even civil servants were squeamish about including that passage in the booklet but Jason Kenney insisted just to satisfy his ideological loonies ....Not all new immigrant (I mean 99.999999999%) indulged in FGM, it was political and ruse for Jason Kenney to burnish is conservative credential. The same way as not all Canadians indulge in paedophilia or smoking crack cocaine......It would have been helpful not to stigmatize a certain part of immigrants population based on stereotype, hello are we talking about Harper Government, that's the only thing they know, divide and rule!!!!

 

[links18]

If the system can be "gotten around" the problem is with the system, not so much the people trying to "get around" it. Either an action is illegal or its not. For example, if Parliament doesn't like people leaving Canada after applying for citizenship, pass a law forbidding it. Don't subject otherwise sound applications to delay and suspicion because you don't like someone's otherwise legal behaviour.

This is the problem with what is going with this government right now. They don't change the law, but they come up with all kinds of other bureaucratic ways of effectively creating new law without going through Parliament. They moan about creating a longer residency requirement, but in reality that residency requirement is sort of already in place. People are afraid to travel after submitting their applications, effectively making the residency requirement about six years as it is now for many people. Of course, a lot of weddings, funerals, and much needed vacations in the sun are being missed by people afraid to engage in otherwise perfectly legal activities lest they be subjected to the bureaucratic slow walk through the Black Hole of an RQ.

Of course, there is nothing statutorily illegal about CIC's slow walk either, but there are certain principles of fairness and reasonableness in the performance of public duties that the current backlog and waiting times clearly violate. Why in the world there isn't a class action law suit on this in order to establish some legal benchmarks of fairness in the process is beyond me. We clearly aren't going to get this from the political system.

 

[keesio]

And this is the flip side of what I mean -- Canadians give me the privilege of assuming I'm Canadian (but I'm an American); and that same privilege is not extended to people who truly are, some of them Afro-Canadians like you reference, others Sikhs and Muslims and Chinese who were born here, but look different.

I'm also American. And of asian decent. People just assumed I was Canadian also (before I actually became Canadian). But I guess it helps that I live in Toronto, a city where half the population was born elsewhere.

 

[us2yow]

There is a certain passivity, a tendency to just be smug and not challenge, not raise your voice. I have heard friends who work in the Govt say that (some of it must be a cultural trait too where nothing is said directly but fake smiles and political correctness to keep the peace - unlike down South where things are challenged and change happens).

 

[vic48912]

If the system can be "gotten around" the problem is with the system, not so much the people trying to "get around" it. Either an action is illegal or its not. For example, if Parliament doesn't like people leaving Canada after applying for citizenship, pass a law forbidding it. Don't subject otherwise sound applications to delay and suspicion because you don't like someone's otherwise legal behaviour.

This is the problem with what is going with this government right now. They don't change the law, but they come up with all kinds of other bureaucratic ways of effectively creating new law without going through Parliament. They moan about creating a longer residency requirement, but in reality that residency requirement is sort of already in place. People are afraid to travel after submitting their applications, effectively making the residency requirement about six years as it is now for many people. Of course, a lot of weddings, funerals, and much needed vacations in the sun are being missed by people afraid to engage in otherwise perfectly legal activities lest they be subjected to the bureaucratic slow walk through the Black Hole of an RQ.

Of course, there is nothing statutorily illegal about CIC's slow walk either, but there are certain principles of fairness and reasonableness in the performance of public duties that the current backlog and waiting times clearly violate. Why in the world there isn't a class action law suit on this in order to establish some legal benchmarks of fairness in the process is beyond me. We clearly aren't going to get this from the political system.

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2011/02/18/lawyers-slam-jason-kenney-for-shocking-lack-of-understanding-of-court-system/

They are even trying to muzzle the judiciary to toe their line...

 

[PMM]

Hi

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2011/02/18/lawyers-slam-jason-kenney-for-shocking-lack-of-understanding-of-court-system/

They are even trying to muzzle the judiciary to toe their line...

At least read the date on the article, it is from 2011

 

[ramsfe]

Hi


At least read the date on the article, it is from 2011

So you are saying that between 2011 and today, they learned how courts work ? Lol

 

[SinghLovCan]

Yeah well, minarets and prayer calls are not the issue we are discussing ... let's just not slip into a dumb discussion about the legitimacy of Islam in Canada... Either we are multicultural and we assume it or we are not and we modify the constitution and the charter to reflect that... meanwhile, agnostic me is very happy to be surrounded by people from all faiths and cultural backgrounds.

Interesting discussion. True we are multi-cultural, but are the ppl we are importing also multi-cultural and accepting of others. For eg. minarets and prayer calls bashing into ears when you have nothing to do with it. Religion should be kept as a private matter in my opinion.

 

[latitudeofgratitude]

Well they are Conservatives after all, therefore they'll have conservative foreign policy, conservative way of thinking, conservative budget, conservative view on race and religion

This is true

 

[Donvalley]

Disgusting to see people bringing up a year old thread for no apparent reason! Seems like waiting for an opportunity to spill out communal hatred and racism as usual.

This reminds me the pot calling the kettle black!

Rather than just thinking and worrying too much about imaginary issues of other communities building minarets/cross/onion domes and prayer calling broadcast (which is nonexistent in Canada, I believe); isn't it better if we do some real work in our own communities? Especially when these self proclaimed champions are blamed (of course by other similar kind of groups) for "creating notorious ethnic enclaves (Brampton, ON & Surrey, BC) that have become unrecognizable as Canadian".

I believe it is good we focus on short falls within our communities rather than pointing fingers on others; like issues of alarming rate of female infanticide among Punjabis in west that made headlines on media earlier, sectarian and internal group fights spilling out to public spaces from temples, other homeland grievances and unsavory incidents making it to the street, group of youths chanting, singing, clapping and dancing in their language on driveways and playgrounds terribly annoying other residents.

Please leave behind the baggage of racism, caste, communal hatred and blame game etc. join hands and work together towards creating more integrated communities here for a healthy environment for our kids to grow and make better future.

 

[derdoppelganger]

Yeah well, minarets and prayer calls are not the issue we are discussing ... let's just not slip into a dumb discussion about the legitimacy of Islam in Canada... Either we are multicultural and we assume it or we are not and we modify the constitution and the charter to reflect that... meanwhile, agnostic me is very happy to be surrounded by people from all faiths and cultural backgrounds.

Well said.

 

[jhjeppe]

This link is broken.

 

[May2014]

Disgusting to see people bringing up a year old thread for no apparent reason! Seems like waiting for an opportunity to spill out communal hatred and racism as usual.

This reminds me the pot calling the kettle black!

Rather than just thinking and worrying too much about imaginary issues of other communities building minarets/cross/onion domes and prayer calling broadcast (which is nonexistent in Canada, I believe); isn't it better if we do some real work in our own communities? Especially when these self proclaimed champions are blamed (of course by other similar kind of groups) for "creating notorious ethnic enclaves (Brampton, ON & Surrey, BC) that have become unrecognizable as Canadian".



I believe it is good we focus on short falls within our communities rather than pointing fingers on others; like issues of alarming rate of female infanticide among Punjabis in west that made headlines on media earlier, sectarian and internal group fights spilling out to public spaces from temples, other homeland grievances and unsavory incidents making it to the street, group of youths chanting, singing, clapping and dancing in their language on driveways and playgrounds terribly annoying other residents.

Please leave behind the baggage of racism, caste, communal hatred and blame game etc. join hands and work together towards creating more integrated communities here for a healthy environment for our kids to grow and make better future.

Thank you for the wise and most refined and respectable opinion

 

[brbr]

"Please leave behind the baggage of racism, caste, communal hatred and blame game etc. join hands and work together towards creating more integrated communities here for a healthy environment for our kids to grow and make better future." <--- Love it, good on you Donvalley. Wish a part of the Oath ceremony was reminding people of this, as many tend to forget why they sought to come to this country in the first place.

 

[nadeem55]

"Please leave behind the baggage of racism, caste, communal hatred and blame game etc. join hands and work together towards creating more integrated communities here for a healthy environment for our kids to grow and make better future." <--- Love it, good on you Donvalley. Wish a part of the Oath ceremony was reminding people of this, as many tend to forget why they sought to come to this country in the first place.

Exactly, we need to understand the rules of respect and Canadian charter of freedom and stop debating and radicalizing on religion and race, Canada is welcoming immigrant so we should and keep the community more saver, healthier and a place where people can say as their second homes.