Let's be clear, for those of us who have pushed back in topics like this, it is in significant part because contrary views are distorted and misrepresented. Perhaps someone has said something akin to "
mobilization is useless," BUT that is NOT what most of the push back here has been about. Not close. And it is blatantly misleading to suggest that is what the push back has been about.
It warrants recognizing that in regards to the status of grant citizenship applications in process there is no implicit let alone explicit threat to the rights or status of such applicants, so there is NO need to mobilize to protest. Recognizing this, that protests are NOT necessary, is totally different from claiming mobilization is useless.
In a similar vein:
Rational criticism of unwarranted and ill-advised *mobilization* is NOT pushing-back against the right to mobilize, especially a call to mobilize that is overstated, misdirected, rooted in fear-mongering, and distorts the issues.
As for the proffered example about IRCC offering a pathway to PR for "
asylum claimants across the country who are working on the front lines providing direct care to patients in health-care institutions will be able to apply for permanent residency if they meet the criteria" that is indeed a good example . . . well-founded and clearly focused activism on behalf of a specific group of individuals deserving a change in policy to facilitate their pathway to becoming Canadians (Canadian PRS). While showing up in person and carrying signs was a significant aspect of their efforts, their message and objective was as big and important, and probably more so.
The mobilization promoted in this topic does not have a message or objective that warrants protesting; it does NOT address a concrete policy in need of change and it is not based on well-founded cause. There is NO real threat of "endless" delays. The repeated fear the Canadian government may be changing the rules in a way that would preclude current applicants (qualified applicants) from obtaining citizenship is totally unfounded, so much so it is utterly FAR-FETCHED.
For example:
Sorry,
@robteix, that you have fallen victim to the fear mongering. There is NO reason, NONE, to have this fear. The threat of drastic changes in the Citizenship Act that would undermine or thwart qualified applications currently in process really is FAR-FETCHED. By a big margin. In particular, there is NO REASON to apprehend rule changes which will result in the disqualification of those citizenship applicants who meet the current qualifications and who have an application in process.
What happened in relation to the skilled worker visa program is not at all comparable . . . and this is amply illustrated in the difference between the Harper government's changes to who would be granted skilled worker related PR visas versus the Harper government's changes to the requirements for grant citizenship AROUND the SAME TIME. The changes to requirements for grant citizenship did NOT change any eligibility criteria in a way that would affect anyone with an application pending and, indeed, the changes were only implemented in a way to affect applications made nearly a full year AFTER the changes in law had been adopted and received Royal Assent (so even after the law changed, new applications filed for nearly the next year continued to be processed under the previous 3/4 residency requirements, not the new tougher actual physical presence requirements).
Even if there is a federal election soon and even if the Conservatives win that election, Canada is NOT on the brink of terminating the path to citizenship for immigrants, not generally, and more specifically there is NO reasonable, rational basis for apprehending that even a majority Conservative government would revise the Citizenship Act in a way that would unfairly terminate applications now in process.
IS IRCC DOING ENOUGH TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT SITUATION and GET PROCESSING CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS BACK ON TRACK?
This is a legitimate question. But it is largely a matter of logistics not policy. And as usual, the
nuts-and-bolts logistics of bureaucratic processing is not a matter being litigated in the public sphere. Which is no different than how things are done in the corporate world. Anyone claiming that private or corporate businesses would be any more transparent in addressing these kinds of issues is either blowing smoke or has had rather little experience in the real corporate world.
I do not know just what IRCC is doing to get grant citizenship application processing back on track. There is NO reason to doubt they are making a reasonable effort to address and solve the problems, trying to figure out how to meet the statutory requirements in the current environment and in the foreseeable future.
I understand more than a few want the government to be more aggressive and faster. Some are proffering ways to get that done.
However, the odds are very high that IRCC is nonetheless already exploring options, examining potential fixes and
work-around methods, and it is probably a rather safe bet they have some rather well-informed and competent people working on this. But IRCC is also a large bureaucracy. And again,
bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does, and that rarely includes easy or quick adaptation.
Moreover, what IRCC can do is very much restrained by the governing law. IRCC has NO power, NO authority to change the law. Thus, for example, the role that knowledge of Canada testing plays cannot be easily revised by IRCC since this is a specific requirement imposed by statute, and IRCC has a defined obligation to apply and enforce the provision requiring adult citizenship applicants (unless exempt) be screened for knowledge of Canada.
The logistics continue to be daunting. Those who think there are easy fixes are probably overlooking the legal restraints and underestimating bureaucratic complexity. This pandemic continues to lurk large on our border, the worst of it still raging largely out-of-control within just a couple hundred km of the vast majority of Canadians. This is a major roadblock which will continue to slow things down. But there is no reason to apprehend "endless" delays. IRCC will deal with the situation, address the problems, and get back on track processing applications. No where near as quickly as most prefer. Again,
bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does.